The Lycan Apostasy
by MacDii
Summary: A deadly war is fought where Faeries and Lycans are at each other's throats. During this clandestine conflict, a Lycan civil war threatens to destroy nearly three millenniums of tradition, Captain Holly Short finds out a deadly secret, Commander 'Trouble' Kelp wages his own crusade and Artemis wages his own internal war. At the centre is the mysterious Lycan, Leviticus Dunkeld...
1. The Christmas Massacre

_Set just before 'The Last Guardian' but before **#SPOILERALERT# **young Opal is killed. I disliked this book the most, and even ending left a bitter taste in my mouth, resurrections? No. So, I'm adding my ideas, plus, I reckon Werewolves would fit the AT world quite snugly. _

_I also have no idea what the year Artemis is born. What, in 2001 when the first book was released he was 12. Sure okay. So he would be 24 but he's actually 21 but in LG he's 15? So the books are going at a slow arse pace, so if he's 15 (actually 18) in 2013, he was born in 1995 right? I guess I'll write him as 15 but will be 16 during the events? We'll see... I guess._

_Because I couldn't fit in the description, adult (I promise, there are no lemons, plus Holly is like a child, wtf man) as well as dark (the main reason this is rated M) themes, secret pairings (because fuck you that's why, no but seriously, its gonna be an awesome surprise.) hundreds upon thousands of OCs (I do try to use CCs, but there isn't enough, so I have a huge word file in my computer files listing each OC) and lots of flashbacks and its generally anachronistic. _

_Enjoy_

_Mack_

* * *

"_Rise! Its dog eat dog. Rise! Man versus beast. Rise! The strong will survive. Rise! I've got no time for the weak."_

_Back for More _by _Five Finger Death Punch_

* * *

_Few creatures are as dangerous, or as terrifying as Humans. Colloquially known as Mud Men, these primitive creatures procreate and breed on a mind-bending scale, compared to fairies anyway. The average number of offspring these creatures has lowered over time, at one point in history they would have up to a dozen children per partnership. It is even rumoured that almost a quarter of the population from the Asian continent are related to one man!_

_Of course, there are creatures that make Humans quiver in terror, including many non-magical ones. Unfortunately, Humans have the unorthodox habit to capture and even tame these creatures! _

_A troll, a troll rider and the goblin triad come as examples of creatures much more terrifying than the Human scourge. _

_There is one, however, one creature who is more terrifying than any monster below the Earth. These are known as Werewolves. _

_No, I am actually being serious. _

_Many have heard the tales of the formation of Rome. Remus and Romulus, the sons of Hercules, were actually the first Lycans – the correct name for werewolves. As the story goes, Romulus killed Remus with a stone over an argument about their cities. The truth is far from. _

_Remus wanted to spread the curse, and to build a magnificent army of Lycans. Romulus was distraught about not being human, and tried to kill his brother to prevent it from spreading. In the ensuing fight, Remus lost his left eye, but fled north to the Germanic tribes. Romulus could not doing anything. Spreading the rumours about killing his brother, he ruled his city, even expanding before disappearing mysteriously. _

_The true story was originally one of the rumours, but was discarded, as is human nature. _

_In actually fact, he found his brother. And with a selection of his best legates, he went to find and kill him. To Romulus' horror, lycanthropy had spread. _

_Lycanthropy is spread uniquely. __To become to a werewolf, one needs to drink the blood of an Alpha Lycan, and then consume a human heart within the __hour__. __Too early, and you will die. __Too late, and you will become immune to the curse, and even your offspring will carry this resistance. __Not all survive the process, and nightmares and visions can cripple Lycans. __This, luckily, kept their numbers small. __A common addition was for the Alpha to mark his charges by clawing the left side of their faces, in honour of Remus. _

_Contrary__ to popular belief, Lycans can transform whenever they want. __However, the process is temporary and is extremely __exhausting. Physically weak Lycans have being known to have being killed by this process alone. __During a full moon is simply when the process is the easiest to control. __To keep up their energy, Lycans must feed. They are not, for an unknown reason, limited to flesh and blood. _

_The process of the Germanic tribes to be lead into battle by a Berserker is actually a misnomer, they were actually Lycans. _

_Lycans have thick hides, along with the fur and skills of a wolf. __While __th__is is a form of the magic, they still have the same thought processes as humans, yet they are technically fairies. __This means the laws of the mesmer actually __apply to Lycans, and is__ illegal to be used on them. __Lycans have a lifespan similar to that of Fairies, but have the pragmatic intelligence of humans. __Known lycans generally have higher-than-average IQ for humans. _

_During the Fairy-Human War, __the Lycans were spilt into three groups. __The Reformers, who believed that the Fairies could help them, the Loyalists, who believed that the Fairies were weak and humankind would decimate the fairykind. __Finally, there were the Neutra, who believed in their own power to survive. This last group is __biggest part of modern day Lycans, __however, some of the other groups hold some clout, __unfortunately, the Loyalists wield considerable power. _

_However, during the 15__th__ century purges by the Humans severely decimated the Lycan numbers. Along with the scourge of 'witchcraft', the Humans, in a fit of terror, dropped the number of Lycans from a few thousand, to just over a hundred. _

_Modern day Lycans currently reside in hiding, and generally in Europe or North America. __This is due to the fact that curse never spread from the Europeans, and it is generally assumed that this a genetic factor, but has never been proved. _

_Lycans follow a specific hierarchy. The leader is known as an Alpha, who keeps a council of five trustees, of Betas. __They meet every seven years, and the event is watched by the Lower Elements Police. __Lycans cannot see thought the shielding, but they can hear, and even smell a shielded fairy. __This was found out in 1999, the first, and only time a non-Lycan heard, saw __and finally identified __the Alpha. _

_Captain Orland __was brutally __executed__under the command of their leader Rudolf Gardner. __Orland's sacrifice was not in vein __however, as__t__his was the first time that Fairies knew the identity of an Alpha. _

_All of this information is garnered from __a group of pro-fairy Lycans._

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

**January 1999, The Salzspeicher, Lübeck, Germany**

_I don't think it was worth the overtime_, thought Captain 'Speed' Orland.

After graduating with Captain 'Trouble' Kelp, both the elves went into the LEP. Unlike Kelp however, Orland got assigned to Section 8 almost straight out of the academy. His photogenic memory and general calmness in stressful situations made him the ideal candidate for operation 'Silver Bullet', the first ever agent to be literally thrown to the wolves.

After 70 years of planning, the plan was finally being implemented.

"Captain, just follow your training, if something goes wrong, get out right away." He was being given orders from an unknown Section 8 officer, so he turned the orders into a simple mantra, _Follow training, get out ASAP._

"We're looking for their leader, if you can images of as many of the people there, we can run them by Mud Man databases."

Calming his nerves, Orland shielded and snuck into the building, making sure to get an image of the sign stating 'All are welcome!' to avoid the fairy hex.

Climbing in through an open window in the top of the building, he rested on a beam in the ceiling of the main room.

Mud Men were sitting around the room, and Orland's heart fluttered.

There was section which was obviously a makeshift stage, and there were 4 long tables which held about a dozen people. Orland was careful to take images of the Mud Men sitting down, as well as the people mulling around the stage.

Without warning, the room went dark with only a row of candles around the stage.

A lone Mud Man stood in the spotlight, and Orland was sure to take images of this one. To his surprise, the Mud Man was cheered.

After it died down, he spoke, "_Suscipiat amici mei, _and welcome to our gathering, I trust everyone is fed?" The mysterious man spoke with an understated arrogance, someone who knew they were playing their audience. Another round of cheers made the man smile.

If Orland had checked his surroundings, he would have noticed the creature behind him, but he did not notice until the heavy breathing was bearing onto the poor elf's back.

As Orland turned, the wolf let out a small growl, and the lights were back on. The creature had black fur with streaks that had a silver hue, and sported a deep single laceration on his left eye. In a blur, the creature grabbed the poor Captain and jumped down, landing next to the original speaker.

The original Mud Men who where sitting had now also become creatures, and the sound of cheering had become a chorus of howls.

The speaker raised his hand, and the howling subsided.

"Elf." It was not a question.

Orland did not answer. He had, however, stopped shielding, but he had released his bladder in a moment of pure terror.

The speaker dropped to one knee, and it was the first time Orland noticed the size of the creatures around him. The speaker was at least seven feet, and the wolf that had grabbed him was at least ten.

The speaker had a snarl similar to that worn by the black wolf behind Orland, and the captain did not know who was more terrifying. As the speaker looked into his eyes, he spoke, "Why do your kind disturb the sanctity of our gathering?"

There was the voice in his ear, but Orland could not focus on anything other that the Antichrist in front of him. Even if he had not been petrified with pure terror, he wouldn't have wanted to to stop the speaker from removing his helmet. With the skill of an elven engineer, the speaker removed the camera, earphone and microphone from the helmet.

The earphone and mic were a single entity, and he spoke into it, addressing the fairy folk as well his lycan audience. "Live and let live."

The speaker clenched his fist, and the black and silver wolf engulfed the Captain's body with one claw while he ran his other across the Captain's throat, his jugular spraying blood over the speaker.

The howls of his audience drowned out the gasps of the elves.

"Let this be a lesson!" He shouted. The wolves howled.

"Humans rule the world, not the earth _pixies_!" With emphasis on the word 'pixies', the creatures howled again. The last thing the fairy camera saw was the menacing face of the speaker, who would be identified as Rudolf Gardner, and the curious Wolf still holding the elven corpse in silence.

* * *

_One of the terrifying skills of the Lycan race is that of magic absorption. If an elf tries to heal while having physical contact with a Lycan, the magic will be absorbed by the Lycan. The workings of this process are unknown, but it thought that Lycans are simply conduits for magic, like a magical battery._

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

**25th 2012, A Gated Community, Texas, USA**

The first signs of the massacres were the howls.

The haunting sounds came closer and closer to the village, the local sheriff, while shinning his torch into a group of trees was killed before he even realised what was happening.

During a production of the Nativity at the local school, where almost every child and parent was attending. They broke through the fire escapes first, then howled. In the ensuring chaos, more of the wolves broke into the large auditorium.

The pure silver wolf laughed with glee at how his minions jumped at the chance to slaughter.

"Don't you agree Levi, the new bloods are simply adorable with their lust?" He growled, glancing to one the wolves flanking him.

Leviticus Dunkeld was a black wolf with silver streaks, and was one of the five British Lycans left. He had also been a beta for almost two hundred years and earned the nicknames of both 'Levi' and 'Silver Stride'. He was a body guard for Rudolph Garner and had been since he originally transformed. Silver Stride was known as the cautious, and had the habit of preferring to stalk in the shadows than to go all out.

Next to him was Gardner's son, Nick 'the Ravager' Gardner.

This Lycan was piece of work, and much more ruthless than his father. Nothing less than success was tolerated. He was also silver like his father, but he did not have the facial scar that marked him as a member of the Lycan council. While the title of Alpha was not hereditary, it was passed to the strongest member of the pack, and Nick was determined to be the next Alpha.

"It's seems so... senseless..." Levi growled. Nick returned a growl of his own.

"You are a walking killing machine, yet you do not slaughter?" He laughed at Levi, who simply ignored him, "You do not deserve the title of Be-"

Before he could finish, his father held him by his throat.

"Levi is four times your elder, and you would be wise to keep your opinions to yourself." He roared, gaining attention from the nearest wolves feasting on a small wise boy as well as a man with camera.

Nick returned the throaty growl, and Levi laughed.

"Leave the boy alone Rud, he can think what he likes."

Levi was the only person who could call Gardner 'Rud', as the two had been partners since Levi became a Lycan in the early 1800s.

"Four times his elder? You make me sound so old." Levi laughed.

"The lad's only 50, I'm almost four hundred myself, we're all old." Gardner laughed with him.

Without warning, the hairs on every wolf stood on end.

Some of the younger wolves went crazy with the feeling of the time stop. Gardner simply grinned.

"Now the party starts."

**Outside the School**

"Were there any scouts?"

"Negative sir."

"It's not like them to be so careless." Commander Trouble Kelp pinched the bridge of his nose.

Like normal wolves, Lycans had the pack mentality, most the time anyway. And today, after the followers of Gardner found that they were hunting, Kelp and some of the LEP's finest had time stopped the small school and where on the look out for the wolves.

Captain Holly Short strolled up to Kelp with a snarl on her face.

"There's children in there Trouble!" She growled.

Kelp looked at her with a look of empathy. He knew there were children in there. But if they blindly ran in, they wouldn't last seconds.

"We can't run in guns blasting Captain."

Almost every creature could be captured alive by the Lower Elements Police. Lycans were one of the exceptions. Rogue Lycans were generally sorted by Lycans themselves, but occasionally the LEP had to bring one down themselves. It never ended well. Twice had the LEP had to deal with rogues, and twice they took heavy losses. The first time, they underestimated the power of the wolves and lost almost the entire task force. The second time, they lost the officers who were sent in to stun the creature. They learnt that the wolves are not stunned with normal equipment.

Now, Section 8 would deal with the wolves, but this was a special case. A time stop team was put together, and the group had access to some of the world's deadliest weapons.

"Let me go in and scout then!"

"Captain... Holly, the answer is no." He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, put his hands behind his back. "We need to use a bio bomb."

He knew what her reaction would be. "Trouble no! There might be sur-"

"No one survives the wolves." He interrupted sombrely.

There was an explosion at the front doors of the school, and two wolves jumped out, snarling.

At the sight of the group of elves, they charged.

The Electrino V4 was an upgraded version of the standard LEP arms, and fired a directed beam of electrons instead of neutrons. If the deadly beam did not kill, the pure ionisation would.

The first wolf did not stand a chance. If the second wolf had not fallen in step behind him, then he would have died as well. Holly was there in an instant, firing her gun at the beasts, but a lucky shot from of the officers closer to the action tore apart the wolf's head. He did not get to celebrate however, as the second wolf bit the officer in the torso, and tried to spin him around in the air. Another officer managed to hit the beast's legs, toppling him, allowing the injured officer to heal. A final blast finished the creature.

"When can we have a bio bomb ready?!" Shouted Kelp over the eerie silence.

No one replied. The sight of three huge wolves at the door of the school was enough to silence even the people watching through the cameras.

In the next few seconds, the rest of the wolves stood behind them. It wasn't many, only about a dozen wolves behind them, but that was terrifying in itself.

"Ah look, the little elves want to play..." The biggest wolf growled.

The wolves behind him laughed, they felt invincible. Only Levi did not laugh. He was the only one to notice the two wolfen corpses and the distinct lack of elven ones.

"Can we now father?" Since the first taste of fairy flesh, the magical sensations were practically legendary amongst wolfen kind. The Ravager had never tried it, but a small female elf glaring at him made him drool.

"In a moment son, you know the signal." An indignant snort was the Alpha's reply. The Alpha slowly stepped forward, wary of the raising of weapons against him.

"Who is in charge?" He boomed, making the nearest elves jump.

As eyes turned towards Kelp, the wolf raised his claw. Within seconds, a flood of wolves charged out of the school.

Holly was instantly in the action. She killed two of the wolves with quick blasts, but the group got to the main group of techies and warlocks too quickly. The group were slaughtered, causing a chorus of screams.

Kelp joined Holly, firing at the beasts. Both of them noticed the Gardner still standing with a huge grin on his face in the same spot as before. He lost his grin however.

The slaughter of the warlocks and techies soon turned into a massacre of werewolves. They were simply feeding, and even the roar of Gardner could not drag the new bloods from their magical meals. The section 8 and LEP forces killed almost half of the new bloods before both the Ravager and a new blood jumped towards Kelp and Holly.

As quick as a bolt of lightning, Holly annihilated the head of the new blood, while Kelp punched at the young Gardner.

With a snarl, he bit into Kelp's leg causing the young Commander to cry out in pain.

Holly, with a gasp, shot another burst at the Ravager but to everyone's surprise, a silver blur took the blast.

"Father!" Roared Nick.

He left Kelp writhing on the floor, and stalked over to his father. He fell to his knees with a blank look on his face.

Holly took a step back, realising she had just killed the Alpha. She had heard of his son's ruthlessness, so she ran.

As she looked over her shoulder, she saw the rest of the officers killing the new bloods, the ravager threw his father's body over his shoulder and ran in the opposite direction. She stopped and watched him run.

A shiver ran down her spine. _Fairy Intuition is never wrong._ As she glanced over the battlefield, she saw the black and silver wolf still standing at the school door.

Watching her.

His eyes were a mixture of green and red. As she met his gaze, he glanced towards the other officers. _Who were looking at the wounded and not the school gates. _With a snarl, he sprinted towards her.

With a terrified scream, she turned and ran again. She did not look back, _if I do he'll catch me_. To her horror, he did anyway.

A single swipe of his claw lacerated her hamstrings, and fell, rolling onto her belly.

A single moan of pain escaped her lips before the beast placed a claw on her body, covering her whole. Her head looking ridiculous between his thumb and fore-claw.

_He was the one who killed Orland._ The revelation shook her.

This was the end.

No saving me.

No Butler to save me.

No Artemis.

She frowned. Why did that last one hurt her more than anything.

He'll need me.

She glared at the beast holding her down. He returned her glare with a pant.

"Get off me... you... fleabag..." She rasped. A simple distraction and she could reach her weapon.

The beast did not laugh. With a cold growl, he held the elf down, slowly applying more pressure. "You killed my only friend..." His growls were strained, _he's sad?_

Holly felt her bones being crushed. She also felt her magic trying to heal her, but it was being absorbed by the beast.

A loud howl made the beast glance up sharply.

Another howl, and the beast on top her went to crush her fully. To her surprise, he was threw himself back, clutching his head in pain.

A moment passed and the pain seemed to subside. Holly tried to rise, but her legs were bent at unnatural angles.

With another growl, the beast swung his claw at her head, only to have him recoil in pain.

Following a look of confused anger, the wolf sprinted towards the howling.

As the darkness took Holly, a single thought came to her, _Nopal and Artemis are gonna love this._

* * *

Silver Stride's thoughts were in turmoil. _Why couldn't I kill her?_

He kept replaying the events in his head, _putting my __weight__ on her tiny frame... a bit more and she will die..._ only to have the glaring pain in his brain.

He shook his head violently, almost swerving into a tree in his musings.

Even before he got to the clearing, he could hear the soft sobs of the Ravager and his heart lurched.

Nick was the first Lycan born from purely Lycan procreation. Sex during while a wolf was notoriously painful for both parties involved. Gardner and his wife were the first people to actually survive the process and Nick was born a year later, his mother dying at child-birth.

This gave Nick some benefits. He could turn much easier, he was more wolf than human and was a natural leader. However, he lacked many human emotions, and love for his father was the only one he accepted.

As Levi approached the young lad, who was in human form, he looked up with a demonic rage in his eyes.

"You killed her."

The pain in his brain once again surfaced. _What?_

Nick noticed him flinch, and he had questioningly look. "What happened?"

Levi, as a Lycan, looked away. "Do you know... the pain of disobeying an order from an Alpha?"

Nick knew all too well, and he nodded his head warily.

"Order me to do something." He stated.

Nick looked at him and waved his hand towards the body of his father. "Bury my father."

"No."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a sharp pain brought Levi to his knees.

Nick looked on with undisguised intrigue. "Bury him."

"N-" this time he could not even think of the word. The pain was like something trying to escape his brain.

Silently, Silver Stride stood. He crawled over to the corpse of the old Alpha and buried hi friend.

Lycans would be become ash when they died, so it did not matter too much about where he was laid.

Nick knew what this meant. _Because I have my father's wolf blood, __I am Alpha by right. _

When the deed was done, Levi muttered some choice words, and Nick put his human hand onto the creature's furry shoulder. The beast did not react.

"With my leadership, we will be able to avenge him. Together."

Had Nick not being imagining world domination, he would have noticed Silver Stride's sigh.


	2. Caught in the Crossfire

_The Salzspeicher is a real place, and General Cockburn was also the real commander during the Burning of Washington. Not particularly important, but I found it interesting. If he was wasn't important, my inner child would be sniggering at his name._

_Mack_

* * *

"_I've held on too long just to let it go now, will my inner strength get me through it somehow? Defying the curse that has taken hold"_

_The Curse _by _Disturbed_

* * *

_The biggest populations of Lycans appear to be European, mostly in the Germanic areas – where most of the beasts herald. Ireland has the least amount of Lycans throughout it's history, and the ones who did reside in Eire were notorious pro-fairy. Over the years, the British and Irish born wolves have become some of the most passive, some even offering services to LEP! The most prominent of these is the British royal family, which have had the curse since King Henry VI._

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

**24th August 1814, Washington D.C, USA**

"Rule Britannia!" The chorus of victory sang true amongst British soldiers. The American capital was burning under the glories of the Union Jack.

"Captain Dunkeld sir!"

Captain Leviticus Dunkeld was on of the youngest captains in the Royal army, and only managed to join the raiding party after convincing the Bermuda garrison to lend some troopers to Commander Cockburn.

He was in his mid-twenties, and had a look of authority despite his youth. A soft stubble grew around his jaw, showing the hours he put in. The young captain was an amazing tactician, and had been placed in Bermuda after the Peninsula war.

While he had wanted to help finish off the French tide, the American scourge was just as good.

"Back to the ships men! Before the bastards realise what happened!" He shouted. A chorus of cheers and they were off.

Before they could react, a shot was fired from one the houses, hitting one of the Bermuda soldiers in the torso.

"Get down!" Dunkeld shouted, but not before he was grabbed by unknown parties.

* * *

Artemis Fowl the first was in a jovial mood.

The ex-crimelord practically skipped through the huge manor. He felt alive since his transformation. He had a lovely wife, his eldest son would be finishing his therapy within the week and his two youngest were building an unnecessary complex structure out of Lego and electrical parts.

Pouring some juice into a triplet of glasses, he hummed to himself, marvelling at the changes he had gone through.

An Irish folk tune broke out and startled the millionaire. _My phone?_

Checking the caller ID, he was wary. He answered it after he let it ring for a moment.

"Hello...?" He asked.

"Senior, is it true you've gone clean?" Laughed the caller, his Scottish brogue heavy. _Drunk._

"Yes." Artemis Senior pinched his nose, "I'm focussing on my family now..."

Another drunk laugh, "Good for you my little leprechaun!" He was shouting down the phone, with a loud guffaw after every sentence.

Artemis simply sighed, he had spoke to some of his old... associates, but this man was one of the leaders of the Union of British Assassins. He had been waiting the call of some of his less... agreeable employees and the UBA had earned a decent wage from the Fowl Empire.

"Five years since we last spoke!" The Scot guffawed, "We need to meet up again!"

Artemis paled. The UBA weren't the most... sociable group, and they weren't the type of people to sit down for tea.

"I'm sorry... tell Gardner I'm sorry... people leave this business all the time..." He was starting to worry... the UBA killed people for less...

"Calm my friend," His voice softened, to that of someone who seemed to care, "I disbanded the group..."

A moment passed and Artemis released a breath he did not realise he was holding. After hearing his breath, Leviticus guffawed again. "We would never have hurt your family my friend, you helped us when no one else would."

Artemis blanched and he didn't realise what came out of his mouth, "You were the cheapest..."

Instead of been insulted, Levi laughed again, "It's a tough market, but Butler is much better than any of the bloods we had!"

For the first time in the conservation, Artemis smiled, "I'm sorry my friend, Butler isn't even paid anymore..."

A short silence, and then another bout of laughter, "How could we compete with that?!"

Even Artemis allowed himself a little chuckle. And a sarcastic Levi jumped at the opportunity, "Laughter, Fowl? You have changed." After a loud guffaw, even Artemis laughed.

After a few moments, Artemis spoke, "Do you really want to meet up again... It won't be like old times..."

A snort came from the end of the line, "Believe it or not, I wanted you to help me on the right path..."

Artemis laughed despite himself, and there was another indignant snort. "Fuck you, I'm being serious."

"Fine," chuckled Artemis, "Bring, what was her name? Katie? Kattee?"

"Are you being serious? Cougar Katie? Once again fuck you." Levi's voice was layered with sarcasm.

Another laugh from Artemis, "My son just got back from... a school trip on Friday so I won't much time... What about next week?"

"I'll be on the earliest Ferry, shit have I got news for you."

"Such as?"

"The reason I'm going clean, for one." With a final guffaw, he finished, "I'm in a rush, I'll see you soon Artemis, and thanks."

The beeps of the hung up line made Artemis smile. After he came back from Russia, he had very few friends left amongst the people you used to have business with. Levi was one, although he didn't get drunk often, but when he did, he got plastered. It must have been a huge leap for the young assassin to suddenly want to go legal.

Artemis knew why he had got in touch. The Fowl Empire had plenty of legal contacts, and plenty of clout with those contacts. If anyone could help Levi, it was Artemis the first, and he was determined to save this man.

Artemis put his phone down, and strolled back towards the twins. He wasn't surprised to a working scaled lighthouse.

"Who wants drinks?" He asked.

* * *

**3rd January 2013, The Salzspeicher, Lübeck, Germany**

Levi sat on his customary beam. The last times he was here, Gardner practically declared war on Fairykind. Levi wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that.

_Sure, _he thought, _fairies have the potential to be much more dangerous than humans... just look back at the Christmas fiasco... _

Nick 'the Ravager' Gardner refused to accept blame for his father death, despite the fact it was his recklessness that got him killed in the first place. Then it was the summary execution of the young elf who killed him that was planned. And since Levi hadn't killed or captured the poor lass, _the spoilt brat blamed me._

That thought alone gave him a sharp pain in his brain. This brought him back to why he couldn't kill the girl. _I need to speak to someone who knows more about our magical restraints_. Wolfenkind had long since accepted that it was not the gods who gave them this curse, and that it was the fault of a magical being.

And even they had their own laws, or hexes, that prevented them from doing certain shit like breaking into houses...

"_Suscipiat amici mei, _and welcome to our gathering, I trust everyone is fed?"

The young wolf copied his father down to his confident snarl. The range of howling was already deafening.

Levi could not help his snarl. They had transformed already. Like beasts. Rud would not have tolerated it. The only reason Levi stayed in Wolf form was for his heightened senses.

"This may come as shock... or it may not... My father is dead." You could hear a rabbit in this silence.

The young wolf glanced at Levi's position, although he doubted he could be seen. "After beating him in single combat, I am the new Alpha!"

The howling was much quieter now. Nick had few friends amongst some of the elders, and his loyalists were mainly in the newer recruits.

A single voice broke out, "Do you have a witness?"

The young Alpha looked towards Levi's position again. Levi hoped he was invisible, simply to hide his shock at what the youngster was doing.

"Be quiet."

"Sacrilege! Without a witness-" He cut himself off with his own howls of pain. Any onlooker would realise that only an Alpha would cause the brain numbing pain at a disobeyed order.

"My friends... the fairy menace will end by the end of the year." They had all learnt of the Christmas disaster, but Levi had not mentioned that a _fairy_ had killed their former leader due to the wishes of a grieving son. _He didn't want to make his father seem weak._ Levi felt his own anger rising at been tricked.

"With our greatest planners, we will slaughter the leaders of the Earth people!" A chorus of roars, mainly form the younger wolves, but a few elders who believed his lies also roared.

Levi snarled with the crowd, but not with them. He snarled at them.

* * *

"What is it Foaly? I'm at the clinic babysitting Artemis." Holly smirked at the paled teen.

"I'm sorry Holly, but this is urgent, I need you and the Mud Boy in the police plaza now." Foaly's voice sounded strained.

"That's not how it works Foaly, consultants do not give orders to captains." She said with another smirk. Foaly would shut down the entirety of Haven if the word 'fairy' was written in a book.

"Lycans are on the move. We got them on a live feed." Countered the Centaur.

"D'Arvit, we're on our way." Holly cut the connection and turned to Artemis who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Lycans? As in Werewolves?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This isn't a joke Artemis." Artemis took note of how she paled. "Lycans are dangerous and have recently become active."

She turned to walk out of the Clinic, but Artemis put a hand on her shoulder. "What happened..."

"They almost killed me and Kelp on Christmas, you've been out of the loop-"

"You mean the Christmas Disaster was done by these Lycans?" Interrupted Butler. "It had been all over the news, but it was said to be a pack of bears or wolves..."

"Yeah, almost two hundred dead." Holly said soberly.

* * *

"Short, where are you?" Commander Kelp shouted.

"I'm here." She said. Kelp could not help but find her determined look sexy, but he knew that this was not the time to ogle.

"Foaly, big screen." He ordered.

"Done Trouble." Replied Foaly.

"As the screen loaded the images, Holly glanced at Trouble. He was best friends with Captain Orland, 'Speed' and 'Trouble'. He had a personal vendetta against the Lycans. _Like when Opal killed Julius..._

Her heart lurched at the thought of her mentor. But she felt a soft hand on her shoulder, Artemis.

Before she could read into it, the Lycans were on screen.

It was small group, half a dozen wolves. However, it was the small, more coordinated groups that they worried about the most. The victory at Christmas was much attributed to the bloodlust of the wolves than to any particular part on the elves.

The group stopped at a clearing. And to everyone's surprise, there where another six wolves waiting for them.

"What is this?" Said Foaly, his voice sounding empty with the lack of insult or sarcasm.

"Can we amplify the sound?" Asked Kelp.

"Sure thing Trouble..." The growls were heard instantly.

Trouble's eyes narrowed at the sight of the silver wolf leading the group who been under surveillance. _The bastard who got my leg._

Holly, however, focussed her eyes on the leader of the other pack. With black fur and silver streaks.

The silver wolf spoke first. "I knew I couldn't trust you _Silver Stride_." He spat the name.

"I did not lie about the death of my father – _Ravager_." The black wolf replied, with equal vehemence.

"Calm Silver Stride, Ravager we can solve this dispute." Spoke one of the group behind Silver Stride.

"There is nothing to solve Knight Wing" Spat Ravager, "Levi is lying."

Another wolf, a dull silver wolf spoke up next, "If he were lying then he would be in pain, would he not?"

The next action was instantaneous. In a fluid moment, Ravager decapitated the dulled wolf, his blood covering both parties. In seconds the simple rhetoric had turned into a gore filled battle.

The one called Knight Wing leaped at two of the young wolves behind the shiny silver coated wolf. The first did stand a chance as his legs were removed, but the second took Knight Wing's head.

The others battled it out, but the LEP were focussing on the battle in the middle of the clearing.

The pure silver Lycan, Ravager, and the wolf with the black and silver streaked coat, Silver Stride, fought with skill few had been privy too.

Ravager had natural talent, while Silver Stride had experience. Both used their claws like swords of old, and the sharp scraping noise forced many of the LEP to cover their ears.

Silver Stride used his claws like a rapier, parrying and going for quick strikes. Unfortunately, the much stronger Ravager used his claws more like a two-handed cleaver. The battle was clear as soon as the last of Silver Stride's allies died. Only two of Ravager's supporters where alive, but they did not join the fight.

The battle continued for minutes that felt like hours, and it wasn't until Ravager got a lucky hit on Silver Stride's arm, making his cry in pain.

To his credit, he did not panic, and allowed Ravager to go in for a final strike, only to find that Silver Stride was no longer there. In a fluid movement, he moved to throw the two young bloods at their leader before sprinting into the forests.

Before the young bloods could take chase, Ravager spoke up, "Leave him. He has no allies now, he has nothing to come back too."

"Follow the black one!" Shouted Kelp, being knocked out of his silence. The room became loud again as people bustled about.

"Got him!" Shouted one of the techies.

"Keep an eye on Ravager, but put on... what was it? Silver Stride? On the big screen."

"Aye aye sir."

"Where is this happening?" Holly asked.

Foaly clicked something and a mini-map appeared in the corner of the screen. "It's logged as Belgium, but due to the Scottish accent he had, I bet he's headed to Calais."

"Is he being followed?" She asked.

"Negative, no other sentient life signals in almost a mile radius now..."

"Could we follow him until he becomes human and identify him like that?" Holly asked, running her hand through her now sweaty hair.

"He's the one who kill Speed..." They all turned to Kelp. Holly put a friendly hand on his shoulder but he ignored her. "I want a retrieval squad ready in 5, Foaly, keep an eye on this bastard."

Butler's Gnommish wasn't the best, but he recognised signs of soldiers preparing for battle, "They aren't serious..." He asked in english.

Artemis gave him a grave look, "He's on his own, its much better odds than the other one. Plus he's wounded."

"He still managed to throw the other two... that shows endurance..."

"LEP's finest will solve this problem, don't worry my friend."

Holly grabbed a helmet, _shit, Artemis, _she ran over to him and punched his shoulder, "I have to go."

He waved her off, "Do your job Holly, Butler," He said, turning to his manservant, "Shall we go?"

"Home? You mother has a surprise ready..."

"Surprises? Mother? Really?" Butler simply smiled at the young Fowl.

* * *

_The first Lycan Civil War was known to the humans as the War of the Roses. As King Henry VI was the first major Lycan leader, Richard of York however was strictly against the Lycan race, and sought to 'remove the scourge'. Unbeknownst to him, his closest ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick was also a werewolf, disillusioned with the King's leadership. The war was eventually won by Henry VII, a Lycan, who tainted the York family after he married Elizabeth of York._

_The death of much of the English nobility removed many Lycans as well those under the duke's sway, this had the ramifications of the rise of the merchant class, which had a distinct lack of Lycan blood. Many faeries agree that this a benefit, many Lycans also agree, due to long lived nobles having the trait of been noticed. Modern wolfen nobles 'retire' to keep Lyncanthropy secret from the rash humans. These nobles tend to help the younger wolves control themselves, or at least take an elder-like role. _

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

"Surprise honey!" Shouted Angeline Fowl, turning on the large room's lights. Artemis I laughed with his wife, and the young twins, Myles and Beckett stood smiling, at least Beckett did. Myles simply stood impassively, waiting to be able to go back to his science.

"Welcome back son!" Said Artemis I, putting his hands his son's shoulders.

Artemis II was not impressed. While he happy to see that his family was warm and happy, he was not fond of this warmth being projected onto himself. Butler's amused glances were not helping his mood.

"Mother, Father, yes, I am now cured of my condition, and I have -"

His arguments went on unheard, or at least ignored, as his mother dragged him to the kitchen.

Artemis and his bodyguard arrived back at Fowl manor about an hour after the Lycan fight. Foaly had promised to tell him when the creature had been apprehended, but Artemis reckoned he would check the updates live. Of course, this plan involved his family leaving him alone, which was not going to happen.

After baring almost an hour with his family, he found himself feeling.. _What? Happiness?_ Butler noticed it too, Artemis did not smile. But he did it more so with his family, and he noticed his charge becoming more and sociable. Butler smiled at the change.

So did Artemis I. While his son didn't laugh heartily, he did laugh without looking pained. _I have so much to make up for..._

The Irish jig of his phone went off, earning him from his wife. He apologized and stumbled out to his office.

He answered the phone, forgetting to check the ID. "Hello?"

"Fowl, I'd hate to overstep my bounds, but is it a bad time?" The scottish accent was thick, but Levi's voice was rasping.

"Erm, a little bit, but... what do you need?" Artemis decided to use his business voice to talk to his old associate. An old assassin did not call and sound like they were in pain without needing some assistance.

"A car, and I can give it back when I come and visit my old friend." He tried to chuckle, but a fit of coughing stopped him.

Artemis sighed, "What happened to going clean Levi..."

"Heh, turns out I don't get redundancy pay..." Another fit of coughing, "At least, the new boss doesn't take kindly to asking..."

Artemis smiled. "Where are you?"

"I'm on a Lorry in the middle of the channel tunnel..."

Artemis pinched the bridge of his nose, but Levi spoke again, "If you happen to have a spare helicopter, that would do nicely..."

Artemis chuckled dryly, "I'll have someone come and get you within the hour."

"Much appreci- shit I have to go, make sure your man likes to speed." And he cut off, leaving Artemis wondering if he should be regretting his decision.

* * *

Levi ran from the battle and did not stop until he could no longer feel his legs. Lycans had impressive stamina, but even they felt pain after blood loss.

By the time he relaxed, he was already human again. The process was painless, but his arm hung limb from his body and he collapse at the base of a tree. Darkness took him in nanoseconds.

Lycan bodies heal faster than humans, with a weeks rest, they can regenerate much of their blood. Levi slept for mere minutes, but it was enough to give him a small energy boost and to stem the blood flow from his arm. It hadn't sealed however, and it bled as he tried to stand.

The distinct sound of vibrations coming in made Levi panic. Fairies. He had no particular grudge against the little creatures, but he hadn't exactly made friendly with them either.

His body ached, and it strained as he forced himself to run. _I can hitch a ride back to Britain..._an explosion just in front of him almost tripped him. He afforded a glance behind him, to see at least three unshielded fairies firing at him. He recognised the commander from the Christmas attack and he blanched. He could still hear at least a dozen others however.

He wouldn't be captured alive.

He changed his tactics to running in front of trees as much as he could, and he was thankful of his jumpsuit. The biggest problem with transforming was the loss of clothes. During World War 2, someone invented a jumpsuit that would morph with the skin, which was celebrated throughout the Lycan community.

Another shot hit his bad arm, actually cauterising parts of the laceration. That was nothing compared to burning pain, but Levi was nothing but pragmatic. With blood loss problem lessened in importance, the biggest worry was, well, the murderous magic beings shooting at him. To emphasise this point, a shot exploded a tree that was about to be dodged, sending it tumbling down in front of the werewolf.

"Get him Short!" Shouted the fairy commander, and another fairy unshielded to fly towards him.

Instead of slowing, as the fairies expected him to, he sped up, sliding under the tree the moment before it hit the ground.

Levi did not count this as a win. Instead of hiding, he pushed himself off of the ground and ran towards the sounds of cars.

After the huge crash of the tree, he could only hear his footsteps. Moments later, he heard a shielded fairy. And it was fast.

_I'm not going to reach the roads before he gets to me._ Levi glance around. There were no trees anymore, just a short plain before the motorway. _I get to there, and they won't risk being seen. _He decided to run.

Seconds later, another blast hit where his foot would have went, but instead of sturdy ground, his foot clipped of off the edge of this new hole, sending the Lycan tumbling forwards.

He cried out in pain as he hit the ground. He rolled onto his arm, but it put pressure on his injured arm, making his cry out again.

Face in ground, his nose now broken, he found that his entire body was writhing in pure agony.

The elf landed with a dull thud next to his head. Levi could hear his, no, _her_ rasping breath._ At least I gave her a good chase. __Bullet in my skull, and it's over, huh, guess I won't get to my old friend._

"Can you stand?"

The question took him off guard, but the voice was familiar. "Don't torture me Elf, just do it and be done." Levi growled.

Instead of darkness, she put a hand on his head, "Get up."

"Fuck y-" A sharp stabbing pain in his head overtook any pain he had in either his arm or his nose. This pain forgotten, he grabbed his head, and stumbled onto his feet.

As the mysterious pain subsided, he glared at the elf. She had her helmet down, so in the darkness it would look mirrored, to Levi's improved eyesight he could see her mismatched hazel and blue eyes twinkling with indecision.

_The lass was disobeying orders for... what? _"What do you want?" He snarled.

She frowned and looked away, "You didn't kill me, I'm repaying the debt."

"I couldn't kill you!" He snarled, "I wanted nothing less!" He swung his good arm towards her, but once again, the mysterious brain-pain crippled him.

"What is that?!" She cried, "You did that back in Texas!" Her eyes were wide now, not with fear though.

"Order me to do something." He stated. _Let's see if Aegis's theory was right..._

"What? You need to get out of here before Kelp finds out what I've done!" She cried, waving her arms about in a comedic fashion.

"Order me to."

"Run, now!" She shouted.

The Lycan shoot impassively for a moment, "No."

A wave of pain took him before he began to run. He gave the elf a final glance, a look confused acceptance, while she gave him that said _'Get the fuck out of here!'_ He nodded his thanks and ran.

_I'm gonna need a lift. _

* * *

It took almost an hour find a suitable lorry to hide in, and Levi decided to ring Artemis I to get help. The man was openly suspicious and Levi didn't blame him. He'd only recently called up to ask for help going clean, and then to ring up asking for some help with something that sounded fishy?

However, before he could give Artemis more details, the distinct sound of shielded fairies surrounded the lorry. Levi chastised himself, _they can see my heat._ Giving his old friend a quick goodbye, he hung the phone stood.

Three fairies uncloaked in front of him. He recognised the commander, _Kelp, as the lass told me, _but the two others he didn't know the others. He could not hear any others, but all three had their weapons drawn.

"You might have been able to run from Short, but you won't be able to run any more." Spoke the Commander, his face twisted into an evil sneer. _Short? I have a name. _

"Ah yes, Short, but please, don't insult me Commander, don't send a woman to do a man's duty." He spoke, voice oozing with sarcasm. He had no particular opinion on gender equality, although he needed to find a vice, or he would not leave this encounter alive.

The Commander did not appear phased, but Levi noticed a slight twitch in his eye at the mention of the girl's name. _Lovers perhaps? _"You killed my friend..." He raised his gun towards Levi, as did the elves on his flank.

_So this is how it ends? I have nothing left to loose._ Levi laughed. "A blaze of glory my friend, hopefully your _bitch_ won't be able to see how _manly_ you are."

Kelp's sneer twisted even more, "Leave her out of this!" He snarled. _Perhaps a one way lover?_ Levi returned the snarl.

"She's as much as this as you are!" He slammed his fist onto the nearest cargo box, "How would she feel if she knew her _knight in shinning armour _killed an injured prisoner."

Kelp's gun wavered, but his partners' guns stayed level. "Orders, sir?"

The Commander knew Levi was right, and his sneer only got worse, "You're own kind doesn't even want you, the cruellest thing I could do is leave you alive, for both you and everyone else." He snarled, and turned. The last sight Levi got was of the trooper that hadn't spoke, was a sympathetic look that made him snarl.

Minutes after the vibrations disappeared from Levi's eyes, he slumped to the ground, and he let the darkness take him.

"_Your kind doesn't even want you"_


	3. A Sprinkle of Coincidence

"_You can treat this like another all the same, but don't cry like a bitch when you feel the pain"_

_You're Going Down _by _Sick Puppies_

* * *

"_Order me to do something."_

"_What? You need to get out of here before Kelp finds out what I've done!" _

"_Order me to." _

"_Run, now!"_

"_No."_

_The human winced once, before running. A single glance from him highlighted his dazzling green eyes, and she glared at him. He simply nodded and he ran. _

Captain Holly Short kept replaying the events of the night in her head.

_I shouldn't have let him go. _

_Why did he make me order him?_

_Why did he feel pain when he said 'No'?_

Holly couldn't make sense of the events. The section 8 guides on Lycans were pretty bare, due to their passivity, but one thing was made clear, they lack empathy. But this wolf didn't appear to be apathetic. He sounded sad in Texas, and he seemed resigned at the last encounter.

She shook her head, earning her a glance from one of the other members of the team. She smiled meekly, and he turned away. _I have a feeling I'm gonna need Artemis for this one._

Kelp had chose to split the team, taking only two other soldiers to chase the wolf. If they captured him, she wanted – no, needed to find out what happened.

Part of her wanted this Lycan free... his leader tried to kill him, he must have done something drastic. From what they had learnt, Rudolph Gardner had a confidant, who they had established as Silver Stride, but he was part of the older order, and was not respected amongst the younger members.

Their source, apparently a Lycan still under the young Gardner, promised to meet them under the next full moon, tomorrow night, and give them more information on both Silver Stride and Ravager.

It all sounded too easy to Holly, and Fairy intuition was _never_ wrong.

Foaly had been running Silver Stride's human face throughout human databases, but so far, no luck. When the centaur came back on the screen, no one was expecting a thing.

The centaur sounded frustrated when he spoke, "It's like he doesn't exist!" He cried.

One of the other officers spoke, "Don't they have long lives? Perhaps this guy is one of those...?"

A chorus of acceptance, but Foaly snapped at him, "Of course I've checked that, but humans haven't had image capturing for that long!"

Holly looked at the image she took when let him go. He was tall, a built quite strong, similar to Butler, but less mass. This man would pass as an army commander, while Butler would pass as front line man. Silver Stride looked like he been in wars too. He had a single scar down the left side of his face. It didn't affect the colour of his eyes however, both of them were a piercing green. A shiver went down her spine.

"Why did you let him go Holly.." Foaly's voice made her jump again. He wasn't on the big screen anymore, just in her ear.

"I d-don't know what you're talking about.." She replied.

"I've edited the footage, but I need to know why Holly... Lycans can't be trusted..." He said, his voice still sounding frustrated.

"You saw what happened... I need to know why he couldn't hit me... or even not do what I said..."

"Yes, but what if you kills again? Then someone will have died because you were curious..."

Holly knew he was right. "What about this source? How do we know its legit?"

Foaly sighed. "We don't. He wouldn't even give us a name."

Holly frowned, "But we're sending a team anyway?"

"I don't like it either..."

"What does Artemis think about all of this?"

Foaly sniggered, but Holly was baffled at why, "Heh, yeah, I was supposed to brief him, but I can't get through to him."

"What's so funny? And its not like Artemis to miss an opportunity like this.."

"Butler mentioned a family surprise..." Foaly sniggered again.

* * *

_Lycans breed in humanform, and their offspring will always have the curse. This child's first transform will be during puberty. This generally coincided with other elements of the coming of age process, but they still have to eat a human heart and drink the blood of the alpha before the next surge of magical energy, or which was generally the next full moon, otherwise the curse would not take hold, and the child will become a pure human, despite one whom is athletically superior._

_While this was originally compulsory, it was eventually up to the parents whether to allow their child to suffer the curse. The curse would only be passed down a single generation, meaning that the curse would end with that child. The liberalisation of this rule was one of the contributing factors to the decline of Lycan numbers. Many Lycans want to restore this law, but support is split almost fifty/fifty._

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

"Butler, can I have a word?" Butler nodded towards Artemis I, and strolled over to his principle's father. "I need you to help a friend for a while."

Butler looked confused, his job was to protect Artemis, not his father's shady associates. As if Artemis the first could read his mind, "I know, this isn't what you're here for, but it's important.."

Butler, if he was a normal man, would have sighed. Instead, he simply nodded, "Of course Mister Fowl."

Within the hour, Butler was in a helicopter on his way to England. The mountain man shook his head. _I should be next to Artemis, anything could happen. _This time he did sigh, _his father __promised he had gone completely legal. _

"_This man is a friend, going though a similar moral crisis I had, from what I gather, his previous employer did not agree with the sentiment." _

_Another reformer?_ _You know the world is improving when the good guys go bad..._ Butler shook his head, _before, the Fowls were simply misguided. _

As he landed in a park, he rang the number Artemis Senior gave him. Someone picked up after the second ring.

"I assume that's you landing in the park?" The voice sounded calm, but the Scot was obviously breathing heavy.

"Yeah, what kind of trouble?" Butler asked. If it was dangerous he'd couldn't go straight back to Fowl manor.

"Heh, it's magical." Butler snorted, "but I'm pretty sure I lost them in the tunnel.."

"How sure are you?" He asked.

"Convinced their leader I wasn't worth it, he left with his dogs."

Butler nodded, "Impressive, where you wanna go?"

"Start up, I'll be there in a sec."

As the blades span, the a man climbed into the passenger side of the small craft. Butler appraised the newcomer. A well built man, with an unshaven face, and a large scar over his left eye. He even looked bad news, and Butler did not like the idea of taking him Fowl manor. Butler then noticed the man's arm, a single, deep wound spun the entirety of his limb. His wrist also showed signs of burn marks.

Butler grimaced as the man put his helmet on. _This guy is a reformer?_

"Names Levi, and just take us as far away as possible." He said, wiping his brow.

"Butler. Mister Fowl suggested his Manor, as you were planning to visit as some point anyway." Butler replied, putting the helicopter into the air.

"_The_ Butler? Nice. And if that's what Artemis suggested, sure..." Butler glanced at the man again. He seemed to deep in thought. _If Artemis can reform, I guess this guy could too..._

* * *

Knight Wing, Aegis, Ares, Eos and Dark Blade were all waiting in the darkened room. Levi smiled as they sat around the circular table.

"What is the meaning of this Levi?" Growled Dark Blade. Like all of the Lycans, he was in human form, his blue eyes piercing.

"I have a... an announcement to make..." Levi licked his lips, "Rud was killed by a fairy."

Levi expected outrage, shouting, screaming, perhaps even been mauled to death on the spot. Silence? The silence was worse.

"You are sure?" Whispered Eos, the only female of the group.

"I chased her myself..." Levi rubbed the back of his neck, "I couldn't kill her..."

"Why not?!" Shouted Ares, true to his namesake, bring his huge fist down onto the table, "Why is the bitch not strung up for all to see?!"

Aegis simply chuckled, earning himself a glare from the short tempered Russian. Eos, however, spoke again, "Why would Nick lie about it?"

This time Dark Blade spoke, "The little runt is trying to usurp control?"

Levi's grimace was enough for everyone in the room. Aegis spoke, spewing wisdom, as the Italian Lycan tended to, "He has enough supporters in the ranks to prevent Levi standing against him, tell us what happened Levi."

Levi nodded, "Nick charged towards their Commander while Rud stood surveying the battle. The new bloods weren't following the plan and decided to feed, instead of focussing on the fairies with guns. Rud gave me the order to retreat and turned to Nick to do the same. As he was tearing a chunk out of their commander's leg, a female took to aiming her gun. Rud roared, and jumped in front of the shot. The lass looked terrified and ran, expecting Nick to give chase, but he didn't. He kinda fell to his knees and seemed genuinely remorseful. I charged at the lass and tried to kill her..." Levi looked at the ground.

"And?!" demanded Ares, "What did you do?!"

"I couldn't." Was the whispered reply.

"What?" Eos spoke again, "What do you mean?"

Both Dark Blade and Ares were fuming, Knight Wing and Aegis looked on impassively.

"The Wrath of the Alpha stopped me."

Levi was given four confused looks. Aegis, however, simply nodded. "Yes..."

They all turned towards him, "What is it Aegis?" asked Knight Wing. All of the others were waiting on his answer.

He stood, and walked over to where Levi was standing. "It hasn't happened in a while, before Rud ever became Alpha, but the Alpha is always the strongest of us, correct?" Aegis was at least six hundred years old, and had out lived three Alphas. He was also using the voice he would use when he spoke to the new bloods.

Five separate nods. Ares and Dark Blade had calmed, but it was the other three were paying the most attention, especially Levi.

"The Lycan who wanted to be the Alpha would have to challenge the current Alpha to single combat. The winner would be the Alpha." He leant on his hands, "I believe that this fairy has taken that mantle."

Gasps came from the normally boisterous pair, while both Eos and Knight Wing sported frowns. Levi, however, looked enlightened. "And that's why I could not kill her with out demanding single combat, because I hit her from behind as she was running, it was not honour bound."

Aegis nodded, "Yes, that is what I believe, if you ever meet this fairy, any of you, before you do anything else, test out this theory." He spoke waving his hands.

Ares broke the following silence with another fist onto the table. "Fairies can't become Lycans!"

Dark Blade stood with him, "Yeah, and why did the Wrath happen when I spoke up in the Gathering?"

Aegis raised in hands towards the irate Lycans, "I believe that is because he has his father's blood. Any of Nick's offspring would have to go through the rite of passage like all of us, and then defeat his father. This is curious..." Aegis slid back into his chair, "Two Alphas?"

Ares hit both his fists on the table, cracking the Oak. "Fairies can't be Lycans!" He repeated.

Aegis did not even look up. "Says who?"

Levi chuckled, "In theory, anyone could do the rite, Fairy, Human, Dwarf, it was never that specific." He ignored the glare from Ares.

Eos spoke up next, "So if I'm not going crazy, we should actually turn to his fairy for leadership?"

Both Knight Wing and Levi chuckled, "She's probably a better leader than Nick." joked Knight Wing.

Ares shook his head more. "Nick isn't the best leader, but a fairy?"

Dark Blade agreed, "I can't say I'm happy with this..."

Eos stood up, "If anything, we need to confront Nick."

Ares almost spluttered, "So he can tear us a new one?"

Knight Wing smashed his fist onto the table, "We can't let him just take over like this!"

"One of us should challenge him then..." Whispered Aegis.

Dark Blade jumped at the chance, "Yes. Let me, I will have the usurper's head."

Aegis shook his head, "Don't be a fool. We need both a strong leader and fighter, not just the latter."

All of the eyes turned towards Leviticus. He simply sighed. "It's late, and I'm not going to rush into any late night plans. We'll meet again in a few days to decide what we'll do."

"I agree, same time next week?" Asked Knight Wing. A chorus of nods. Levi sighed again.

"This can't end well. What ever happened."

The five other's dropped their heads. If Levi lost, then they would all die.

* * *

"Levi! My old friend, come here!" Artemis senior brought the bemused Scot into a big hug.

"Woah!" Levi wasn't expecting his old business partner to be so... warm. He returned the hug though.

"Come, come on, I want you to meet my family!" Artemis said as he pulled away.

"I've been here not even two minutes!" Levi cried.

"So? My eldest son came back from his trip a few hours ago, but he's retired to his room, and we have a ton of food to finish. If I recall, you had one hell of an appetite!" Both the adults laughed, and Levi contemplated his friends almost radical transformation. He hadn't spoke to since he got back, but he heard the rumours from his old associates.

"_Ole Fowl gone good ya know?" _

"_Yeh, fecka's missin oot in ma opinion." _

Levi was actually glad his old friend had found peace. He remembered the coldness of the meetings,. In expensive hotels, it was great money, but he was always nervous around him his intimidating Butler. He would never have said the words 'meet my family' before.

"Oh hello!" Mrs Fowl met them in the kitchen, and Artemis was not kidding. There was a large oriental buffet on the large table and that made Levi laugh.

Angeline seemed cautious of Levi, and he did not blame her. She stood between the big man the room where he could hear voices. _Her sons._

"Greetings Mrs Fowl, my name is Leviticus Dunkeld, but please, call me Levi." He said, with as much warmth as possible, kissing her hand.

She seemed to scowl at his attempted chivalry. Artemis simply laughed nervously. "Don't worry about him Angel, he won't be staying long."

Levi did a double take. "I'm staying, Artemis?"

Artemis put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, still smiling, "Getting on the straight and narrow isn't going to be easy. I had to get kidnapped for it to dawn on me."

Angeline scowled even more when the door opened.

* * *

Artemis strolled into the kitchen to glanced at his family. He saw the visitor, who he regarded with barely veiled contempt.

"I came down for a glass of water," He turned to Butler, "I take it your trip was productive."

His father simply sighed. "Artemis, this is Levi, he will be staying here for a while..."

Artemis looked at his mother, who was obviously not happy with this arrangement, neither was Butler. To his surprise, even the newcomer seemed slightly nervous.

"His purpose?"

"He's trying to leave a life of crime." Said Artemis Senior jovially.

"And apparently, your father has little faith in me to do it on my own..." Levi chuckled nervously. Angeline simply glared at him.

"Timmy, dear, just make sure our guest does not overstep his boundaries." She called her husband by his pet name before leaving to watch Myles and Beckett.

Artemis the first simply sighed. "I'm sorry fo-"

"I understand her fears Artemis." Levi waved his apologies away. "May I have some of this delicious looking food?" He said with a smile.

Artemis I returned his smile, "Help yourself my friend."

"I'll hold you to that." Levi said with an exaggerated wink. Artemis Senior simply laughed as he left the room.

Young Artemis watched this interaction with interest. This man, who looked in late twenties, was acting as if he had been friends with his father since childhood. His father did not have friends, at least, not until recently.

"How did you know my father? If you don't me asking..." He asked.

Levi almost spoke with a mouth of sushi, but caught himself. After he had finished, "Honestly? I tried to take Butler's job." Butler smiled, and Levi laughed.

"Yes, I remember you now, it wasn't close, but it was the first time someone else offered." Levi laughed laughed louder.

"Yes, and while I never got the job, your father did hire my outfit for other jobs though." Levi smiled at young Artemis.

Artemis wasn't sure what to make of the Scot. He seemed like he had great emphatic control, but also seemed to checking every possible exit. _A mix of Butler and Holly perhaps?_

Butler also noticed Levi's movements, but decided he wasn't looking to harm his friend's family. He was simply a soldier. Artemis came to the same conclusion.

"Which wars have you fought in?" He asked.

Levi's smile dropped fast, which was noted by both Artemis and Butler. Levi's eyes also dropped. "The most recent was the Falklands... I left the Army after that.."

Butler nodded sympathetically, but Artemis did not. Artemis could tell the signs of someone telling only half-truths. Knowledge is power.

"Have you lost someone recently?" He asked. Butler simply shook his head, _typical Artemis._

Levi's eyes never left the floor. "Yes, earlier in fact... that's why I asked your father to help me.."

Artemis frowned.

Levi looked up, and looked at the young Fowl in the eyes. His mismatched hazel and blue eyes.

A five year old could not have noticed the sudden change in Levi's behaviour. He jumped back, leaning against a counter.

A moment of shocked silence, and Artemis spoke, "Are you okay Mr...?"

He shook his head violently before leaving the room in a flurry.

Both Butler and Artemis exchanged confused looks. "He must be tired..." Suggested Butler. They both knew that that was not the case.

* * *

_Hazel and blue... blue and hazel... their eyes..._

_How could I have not noticed? Her scent was rife throughout the Manor... every single person reeked of magic..._

_Do they know? _

_The young lad must... his hazel eye was teeming with magic... _

Levi looked back the house. _Full moon tomorrow... if I wait... she might come here..._

* * *

"Has anyone seen Levi?" Artemis Senior asked his family as they set down to have their breakfast.

Young Artemis and Butler exchanged glances, but did not say anything. Angeline spoke, vehemence obvious, "Have you checked local prison dear?"

The atmosphere was horribly stifling for Artemis, and he had not heard from Foaly or Holly all night.

"Father, I'm also terribly worried about our guest, but Butler and I have work that has to be done." His father frowned, but waved his anyway.

As Artemis sat down at his computer, the opening of his window gave him a ghost of a smile. He could not hear Holly's footsteps, but he waited for the perfect moment. The second Holly was about to try and scare Artemis Fowl the Second -

"Captain Short, can I help you?" As he span in his chair. Holly fell back clutching her chest.

"You conniving son of a gun. How did you know?" She cried, her breath heavy.

"You sound like an elephant, please, I have a busy schedule." He said, an amused look on his face.

Holly hit him playfully, chuckling. "We need help, but Foaly was refusing to talk to you because he wants the glory."

"About?" Artemis asked.

Holly furrowed her brow, "The Lycans," she informed him, "We chased him... even hit him at one point, but he... erm... escaped from me and Kelp chased him. They were convinced he wasn't worth being killed, but he escaped and we lost his trace."

"Do you have an image of him in Humanform?" Artemis asked. He noticed her stumble, more half-truths.

"Yeah, erm..." She pulled out her communicator, and showed Artemis the image of the scarred human. "From what we can tell, he's pretty tall by human standards, he great at killing and has the weirdest eyes, they're like -"

"An emerald green?" Artemis suggested, and Holly's mouth dropped.

"How did you... you can't see them on that picture..." She stuttered.

"Yes I know, I think I might have met him last night."

Holly did a double take. "Artemis?!" _I can ask him what happened! _"Where is he?!"

"He looked into my eyes and he fled. I have to assume he saw your eyes through mine." Artemis turned to his computer and started to type. "He calls himself Levi and he worked for the Union of British Assassins, he has a military background, he said he was involved in the Falklands War."

_Foaly spends all night and finds nothing. Artemis sees a picture and he's already met him_.

"I need to speak to him Artemis." Demanded Holly.

"Ah yes, is this when he 'escaped from you'?" Artemis asked, physically doing the air quotes around the words.

Holly closed her eyes. "He did something weird and I want to know what he did."

Artemis started to check the security cameras. "Then lets get started shall we?"


	4. Surprise Motherfucker

_Ugh, the second part is so clunky. I disliked writing that part the most of all that I've wrote. _

* * *

"_If I'm gonna drive, girl it's gonna be one hell of a ride."_

_Waking up the Devil _by _Hinder_

* * *

Levi glanced towards the sky. _What? Three hours? Two?_

He shook his head. _Why did I run? A Lycan does not run. _

He shook his head again. This time he glanced towards the Manor. He saw the elf enter earlier in the day. _So what? Young Artemis is working with the new Alpha?_

He growled. He had been in his wolf form for the last hour. _She is not your Alpha yet. She is no Lycan._

Levi heart lurched at the thought of his old friends. _I shouldn't have gone with the plan. _Not one of his own kind wanted him anymore. All those were now dead, or at least lied too. Levi was sure they would all hear the story of his great _betrayal._

He snarled, swiping at the tree he was leaning against. _Nick will die._

* * *

"That's your plan?!"

"I don't hear anything from your end Foaly."

"But that's your plan?!" Cried the Centaur.

Artemis sighed. He knew it wasn't much of a plan. But it was the only chance they had.

"Wolves howl at the Moon, correct?" He asked.

"Yes..."

"But wolves are not magical creatures, correct?"

"Yes... but th-"

"So why do they howl at the moon?"

"They don't, they howl to find pack mates..."

"What about Lycans then? They have no need to."

"Artemis! What does this have to with anything!"

"Bare with me, I watched the recording by Captain Orland, and I noticed that the wolves continue to do the motion of howling, despite no sound being heard."

When Foaly did not interrupt, he continued, "I edited to get just the sound of those howls, and they are still making a noise, just at a higher frequency."

"Like a dog whistle." Holly said.

"So, if we do a scan for this abnormally high frequency in Ireland, at midnight we should have only one Lycan in Ireland at that time, and that must be our friend."

"If we ignore our contact of course."

"Yes, that went without saying Foaly."

Holly sighed at Artemis. "Keep in touch Foaly, Holly out."

As she cut the call, she glared at Artemis. He looked back her, "What?"

"Nothing." Her eyes did not stop glaring.

Artemis felt himself become uncomfortable. He straightened his tie and stood. "How about a game of chess?"

Holly looked at him with confusion, "But you'll thrash me..."

"I promise I'll wait at least ten turns." He said with a ghost of a smile.

The elf frowned at him. "Fine."

True to his word, Artemis beat her in eleven moves. "Why am I even trying?" Holly whined.

"Again? This is helping me think."

"Fine Mud boy."

As Holly stared at the board, watching Artemis put the pieces back to their places, Holly's thoughts wondered.

_He's really in his element here... like when I'm in the field._

"Ladies first."

The game continued, but Holly was not paying attention to the game.

"_Order me to do something."_

"_What? You need to get out of here before Kelp finds out what I've done!" _

"_Order me to." _

"_Run, now!"_

"_No."_

_The human winced once, before running. A single glance from him highlighted his dazzling green eyes, and she glared at him. He simply nodded and he ran. _

_Why was he in pain? _

_Why did he tell me to order him? _

_Why did I let him go... _"Checkmate..." Holly muttered absently.

Artemis looked paler than he normally did. "B-but... w-what... Holly!" He swept an arm across the board uncharacteristically scattering the pieces, "How did you do that?!"

"_Order me to do something."_

"_What? You need to get out of here before Kelp finds out what I've done!" _

"_Order me to." _

"_Run, now!"_

"_No."_

_The human winced once, before running. A single glance from him highlighted his dazzling green eyes, and she glared at him. He simply nodded and he ran. _

"Do what?" She blinked at the looming Artemis. "What did I do?"

Artemis looked at her incredulously. "You beat me and you weren't even paying attention!"

_The human winced once, before running. A single glance from him highlighted his dazzling green eyes, and she glared at him. He simply nodded and he ran. _

_Not as cold as those of the young Fowl. _

To Holly's surprise, Artemis leaned in, and kissed her.

Memories of the zoo flooded back to her. The tingle of the kiss brought back the attraction she felt. She did not feel the same intensity.

"Artemis?!" She jumped back, startled at his forwardness. He looked even more confused than before.

"What did I do wrong? I did everything Butler suggested..."

Holly glowered at him. "We have to focus, and you and your Frond-damned hormones are going to screw up everything!"

"I don't underst-"

"You never do Arty!" She slammed her palms onto the chess board as she said his name, "I asked Trouble out!"

Artemis simply stared. "Trouble... b-but why?"

"We don't have anything in common Artemis!" She shook her head, "This Friday, I'm going to be with Trouble, he's just..." She waved her hands around, "Much more like me!"

Artemis looked at the floor. "I'm sorry... I didn't know.."

"D'arvit! Look at the time, call Foaly, I'm going to get some air." The elf stormed out, leaving Artemis to brood.

He looked at the time, 23:35. He sighed and called the Centaur.

* * *

"Stupid Mud boy." Holly stormed the gardens of the Manor. It was far enough the Manor for her not to bother shielding to hide from the rest of the Fowl family. "Mrs. Holly Fowl?" She snorted.

"I have to get out of here..." Holly stormed off, "I should stay, but then Artemis might kiss me again. Frond!"

She walked up to a large tree, and slid into a sitting position, her back towards it. She rubbed her eyes, "I need more sleep... and to do the ritual..."

She glanced around, looking for an acorn, but saw none. "Of course... just my luck..."

She leant her head against the tree, and looked to the sky. There were no clouds, and the stars and Moon was clear against the background of space. _The Moon looks absolutely delightful..._

"Since when do I care about the Moon?" She laughed, "This Lycan thing is getting to me..."

She found she could not take her eyes from the Moon, and she could swear she felt her magic reserves topping. She laughed again.

"That's not how it works." She muttered.

_Is Artemis really that bad? _

She frowned at the stray thought. _He's a Mud man. He also has a terrible personality. His eyes are nice... even if one them is mine..._

She shook her head. _No, _she thought firmly, _it wouldn't work anyway. _

"You'd be surprised."

The voice behind her made her jump, and she pulled her gun and aimed it towards the voice. The black Lycan stared at her, as if the gun was nothing but toy.

"The Moon is like us..." He growled, slowly approaching her, "A magical conduit..."

"Stay back!" Holly said, her voice broke, betraying her fear.

The Lycan did not care, he simply looked towards the silver satellite. "Luna is a fickle creature, is she not? Waxing... Waning... blocking our view of the Sun... as if she is jealous..." He dragged his eyes from the Moon.

Holly was still scared, but she was always taught that Lycans were terrible inhumane monsters. Yet this one was talking about the Moon...

"And like Luna... Lycans are jealous... the short lives of man... the magic of Elves..." Holly braced herself for an attack.

"But we are not Luna, and she chooses her own..."

Preparing for an attack from the Lycan that did not come, she didn't realise the pain was coming from inside of her...

Holly's head whipped back through it's own force, and pain crippled her body, sending her spiralling into darkness.

* * *

"Okay Mud boy, let's see if this works..."

"It will Foaly..." Artemis sighed. Even the Centaur noticed the viable change in his behaviour.

"Where's Holly?" Artemis struggled to control his urge to twitch.

"She needed some air."

Foaly raised an eyebrow, but the a ping of his radar caught his attention.

"Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting this, but I have two counts of this frequency in Ireland, one near Dublin with our contact, and one... in the trees south of the Manor..."

Artemis bolted out of the room shouting, "Holly!"

* * *

Short was a curious specimen.

If it wasn't for her species, she would have been a top candidate for the Rite. Strong body, strong will, and despite her fear, she held her own against a ten foot tall werewolf.

Levi smiled, but it came out more of a snarl in his wolf form.

The young lass was currently suspended, as was the norm for the first transformation. Her neck had whipped back, and her limbs were growing. Fur was sprouting from her skin. The only obvious difference to that of a human transformation, was the mass of blue sparks jumping around her body.

Her body grew exponentially, and moments later, her jumpsuit split, leaving her bare. Her skin became the Lycan hide, and the fur continued to sprout.

Her eyes opened and a gasp came from her mouth. As she murmured, her mouth slowly formed into a snout, and her hand sprouted claws. Her feet soon followed.

She was moaning, borderline growling and snarling now. Her teeth became fangs and her snarls were making her drool.

As her fur grew in length, her snarls became more pronounced.

Levi's eyes never left the young elf.

As the process finished, she landed on the ground with a thud. She howled instinctively.

Her fur was a beautiful brown, identical to that of her hair. Her mismatched eyes looked even more pronounced than before. She regarded Levi with a look of indifference, her body betraying no emotion.

Levi knew he was on dangerous ground. She was an Alpha. One of the strongest Lycans, and during the first transformation, the Lycan had a raging blood lust.

Levi watched her eyes. The only warning he got, was a glint of amusement in her eyes, and she was off.

As a Lycan, she was about six feet tall, an average human size. Her frame, however, was much more bulky, and she ran with the grace of a hunting cheetah.

With a snarl, Levi followed.

* * *

Holly had never felt so alive.

From the pain, she felt as if she would never walk again. What she got was not what she expected. The feelings she got were not what she expected either.

As she got her bearings, she stared at Silver Stride, and he stared back. She tried to look aloof, even angry, but she just could not conjure the feeling. She just felt so _alive_.

She also realised that Silver Stride did not seem as tall anymore, and before he could stop her, she ran. Hearing a growl from behind her, she tried to run faster.

Her legs felt amazing as she ran, with the wind through her fur. She bounded as fast as she could, admiring the Irish forests in their glory, the only difference from her elven eyes seemed to be the distinct increase in contrast. The greens were more green, the browns were more brown and even the stars in the sky seemed to be brighter.

The Moon made her heart pound. It looked so much more magnificent through her wolfen eyes.

_Why am I enjoying this? If Kelp found out, he'd had my badge. _

The thought of Kelp made her stop suddenly. She couldn't tell Kelp. _He hates Lycans more than anything..._

She turned to her second shadow.

"Please tell me this is reversible?!" She snarled.

"Normal new bloods have until the next full Moon." He said, locking his eyes onto her glare.

She narrowed her eyes even more, "I'm not _normal_ though."

He nodded simply, "No."

Her eyes widened and she sat back. "You've don't know do you?"

Silver Stride sat opposite her, both of them were in seated positions similar to that of tamed dogs. He offered her a sad smile, but it came out as another snarl. "You're the first fairy we've had in a while."

Despite his facial features looking menacing, Holly found that she understood what he was trying to do.

A sudden gurgle in her stomach made her want to vomit. Silver Stride gave her another smile, "About now, new bloods get their first urges..."

Holly looked at him with a bout of confusion before it hit her. "Blood?" Her voice high for her intimidating form.

Another sad smile, "Fresh meat generally, and if you do not feed, you will find that you may struggle to have self-control, even while not in your current form."

Holly retched. "You mean I could just try to _eat_ someone while I go about my daily business?"

"That is the price we pay..." For the first time, he pulled his eyes away.

Holly did notice this motion, but it was the enormity of her situation that she struggled with.

_So... I'm a monster... the first magical wolf..._

"If it makes you feel better, I guess you're the first ...faerwolf..."

Holly stared at him. Silver Stride looked at her as if he made a comment about the weather.

Holly chuckled dryly, and he gave her soft smile. Holly's heart was not in it. Her entire world had just changed.

* * *

_They have an elongated spine, coupled with a small tail for balance. They have fingers along with claws. These claws are extremely sharp, and can cut through metal, if the Lycan is experienced enough._

_In terms of sexual organs, males have penises that are in a way similar to that of wolves. The average size of an erect Lycan phallus can reach up to sizes of three feet. Females have vagina that are hidden under a patch of fur. _

_Both male and female Lycans suffer a period insatiable lust every two years. This is a remnant from when the Lycans needed to breed to grow their numbers. Female Lycans have the equivalent of a 'period' two months before, and lasts until, the breeding cycle. This 'in heat' section will last a further two months. _

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

The last footage of Holly was of her storming out of Fowl Manor.

_I did everything.. I did the research... and after looking into her eyes a kiss should have made her happy..._

The last footage of Holly was of her storming out of the south gates of Fowl Manor.

_We kissed before... what changed?_

Artemis frowned. She showed no sign of lying when she told him.

"Foaly, she's gone."

"D'arvit Holly!" Swore the Centaur.

Artemis started to pace. "What do we do... what do we do..."

"You're the one who plans Mud Boy... Frond, she'll be the death of us." Foaly fluttered around his saferoom. "If it helps, Trouble's on his way with a team."

Artemis suffered a single twitch to his brow.

"Good. If anyone could help, its Kelp."

Butler walked into Artemis' room with a dark look on his face. "Definitely signs of a large animal."

Artemis looked blankly at the shredded fabric in Butler's hands. The same blue as Holly's jumpsuit.

"That'll be Mister Dunkeld then."

"What do we think he's going to do?" Foaly asked quietly.

"Ransom? Perhaps just eat her?" Artemis bristled at Butler's suggestions.

"We'll just have to wait and see." Snapped the young Fowl, earning curious looks from both his manservant and the Centaur.

* * *

Levi watched Short pace.

She was definitely upset about her new powers, _so was I in the beginning._

"What do you want me to call you?" He asked, pulling her out of her respite.

"Er, Holly, Short, Captain, take your pick." She turned towards him, "What about you?"

He smiled softly, "Levi, Leviticus, Dunkeld, Silver, Silver Stride, Lieutenant, take your pick."

She chuckled softly. "So _Levi_, what do we do now?"

He sat back in thought. "Normally we'd take a new blood out hunting. Teach them how to control their urges."

Her mouth dropped. "We are not killing _anyone_."

He raised his claws defensively. "It doesn't have to be human or elven, just.. fresh..."

"I'm a vegetarian." She stated firmly.

He grimaced. "If a new blood told us that, our trainers would have forced fed him a live rabbit."

She gave him a look of horror, before pacing again.

Levi still did not know what to make of her. An Alpha who refused to eat anything living, oh, and she's a fairy.

"This need I have..." She seemed to pacing even more now, "How fast does it get worse...?"

"By the end of the week you'd be eating anything with a heartbeat."

She pulled a face. "So I guess I really need to?"

"Are you good with self-control? If so, you could probably wait until you..." She shook her head violently.

"No... I just really don't want to kill anything... Fairies can feel a creatures pain..."

Levi snorted. "As a Lycan, you should find that your magic and empathic control all but muted."

She stopped. "Heal." She said, putting her claws onto a nearby tree.

The normal blue sparks where there, but when they reached the tree, they bound back onto her.

Levi spoke, "You are a conduit, and I have to recommend, try avoid touching other fairies... you'll bleed them dry."

The lass nodded, but she wasn't listening. She tried again, but same thing happened.

"I can never use magic again..." She turned to Levi, grabbing his arms, "Can I?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have the answers..."

"Then who does?!" She growled.

He returned her snarl, and pushed her off. "Aegis could have. But now he's dead. As well as my closest allies."

The new Lycan gave him a look of sympathy, "I'm sorry... what happened?" She asked softly.

He turned from her. "Nick usurped control on the clan after you killed his father, we were planning a counter coup."

She nodded, this time putting her claw on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. He turned towards her with a new fire in his eyes. _Time to teach the young ones_. "When was your last period?"

She looked aghast at the question, and growled at him, "That's none of your -"

"I don't care, but you'll have to calculate a completely new system."

"What? Why?"

"They'll happen every two years, and you'll get god damn horny afterwards." He ignored her blush, "So avoid touching me from next week."

"I'm confused..."

"Don't worry, it'll make sense at some point." Levi chuckled. The lass was in for one hell of a surprise.

She seemed to go into thought. Once again, Levi found himself inspecting the new recruit.

The soft Irish winds made her fur flutter, and she held herself in the stance of a leader. If he had to compare, she had the same stance Rud would have when he was contemplating Levi's advice.

"You said you were planning a coup, then who is our informer?" She asked.

"Informer? No one. Elder Gardner would accept all criticisms, no one felt the need to be a whistle-blower." He stated, clenching his fist. "I guess Nick felt a bit disillusioned, he wanted the Fairies wiped from the face of the Earth... Why?"

Short looked at him, her eyes opened wide. "The LEP is meeting the informer tonight..."

Levi snarled. "It's a trap. No doubt."

"D'arvit! We need to get to Dublin, the meeting is set in the next hour!" She growled. She started running before she had even finished speaking.

Levi ran aside his new leader. _Huh, my first order._

* * *

Commander Kelp checked at the time. "How long have we got until the meeting?" He asked a nearby techie.

"An hour sir."

Kelp nodded absently.

No one truly trusted the Lycans, and it was pretty much agreed that this was a trap. An equipment malfunction was doing nothing to allay fears.

Around the perimeter of the meeting place, Kelp had ordered some of Section 8's best soldiers, as well LEP veterans, into positions to overlook the meeting, as well as to keep an eye out for other wolves.

His communicator went off, startling him.

"What is it Foaly?!" He snarled, "I told you radio sil-"

Foaly interrupted him, his voice void of his usual sarcasm, "We think Silver Stride has Holly."

Kelp paled. "How sure are you?"

"We found her jumpsuit, evidence of a large mammal and the last readings from her suit seem to be distorted..."

Kelp frowned, "What do you mean?"

Foaly's voice sounded strained. "That's just it, we have no idea. She blacked out for a few seconds, before waking again, but then a huge magical surge short circuited the suit."

"Surge?"

"A sudden explosion of energy..."

"But she might still be alive?" Foaly nodded.

"We can't be sure..."

"I'm on my way, Kelp out." He cut off his technical advisor. If Holly was in danger, he had to go.

He waved over his second-in-command, "Follow the plan, I'm taking two guys to find Short."

Kelp took two LEP officers, much to their surprise, and dragged them towards the location Foaly sent him. It was not lost on him that it was Fowl Manor.

Kelp's mind wondered.

_She'll be okay... she wouldn't miss our date, I mean, she asked me... D'arvit, why did I say yes? It's so unprofessional... _

He shook his head, _Mother will be pleased. _

* * *

Holly also thought about her up coming date.

_I have my dress ready... Where did Trouble suggest again... I'm gonna need to get the details off him. He always did have good taste. _

She glanced at her new partner. Since her transformation, she didn't find his wolfen appearance intimidating in the slightest. He held himself well, like a soldier, and he was extremely considerate.

He seemed to be completely focussed on their goal. Even as she was here fretting about her love life.

_I still have to eat something..._ She shuddered. _Something living with feelings... _

Silver Stride seemed to sense her fears, "Only the initial urges are for flesh, it is possible to sustain yourself on other food though..."

At the speed they were sprinting, a normal person would not have heard a word. But Holly felt that she could hear everything with extremely clarity. His voice, his breath, their claws on the dirt, all of it was as clear as day.

"Are there any other downsides?" She muttered, more to herself than to Levi, but he replied anyway.

"The recurring lust and the subsequent lack of lust are the biggest annoyances." He chuckled.

"You mentioned that before, what do you mean?" She frowned.

"Every two years, after a your period, you'll get ridiculously horny for a few weeks." He chuckled again. "Don't take it the wrong way, but your scent suggests that you're nearing the time..."

She glowered at him. He wasn't wrong, she would finish the day before her date, which was the original plan.

They ran the rest of the distance in silence. There was a slight awkwardness, but Holly just ignored him until he grabbed her, and pulled her to the floor.

"Gah! What are you doing?!" She hissed.

"Be quiet, and listen." He closed his eyes, and his ears twitched.

She frowned at him, but copied the motion.

The sound of insects was distinct, as where the pair's breathing. But she still did not understand. "I can't hear anything..."

"Don't hear, listen. Stop thinking about it and just let your mind wonder."

She frowned again, but tried to stop thinking about Kelp.

Then she heard it, and her eyes snapped open. She identify the soft purring noise, "Shielded fairies?"

Silver Stride nodded glumly, "Now smell."

She watched him with interest. Like Artemis during their chess match, or like Kelp during a training exercise, and Foaly on his computer, he was completely in his element.

She took a deep breath, before spluttering. The smell of wet dog made her eyes widen.

Levi opened his eyes and returned her look with a grimace, "Lycans."


	5. The Plan? We Spring the Trap

_Ack, a week of coursework and I've clocked over 9 full days on Crusader Kings! Phew, I need a life, anyway, enjoy chapter 5!_

_Mackdoodle (No but seriously, its just Mack.)_

* * *

_"Master, master, where's those dreams that I've been after? Master, Master promised only lies."_

_Master of Puppets _by _Metallica_

* * *

Captain Jerom Kirrahe waited. His nerves were more than on edge.

His Commander had simply left him in charge, in charge of a mission that had high chances of being a trap, set by bloodlusting monsters.

The young elf wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Are the scanners working yet?" He asked a nearby warlock who simply shook his head.

"D'arvit, do we know the problem then?" Another shake.

The Captain turned towards where the meeting was supposed to happen, glancing at his communicator, _fifteen minutes till contact. _

He spoke into his com, "Okay ladies, I want team one ready to make contact, team two, shield and be ready for shit to hit the fan." A chorus of acceptance as well as a chuckle from the warlock to the human curse.

After five minutes, the mood had not changed. The scanners didn't work, and there was no sign of wolves.

The snap of a branch behind the Captain made him pale. The warlock was watching the contact zone with him, and he turned. In Kirrahe's peripheral vision, the face the warlock pulled was enough for him to begin praying.

"Captain Kirrahe." Growled a distinctly female voice.

The elf turned quickly, and pulled a salute. The sight of Silver Stride and a young brown wolf was too much for the warlock, who fainted, hitting the floor with a dull thud.

Kirrahe blinked. Silver Stride was not supposed to be here. And who was this other wolf? Silver Stride was thought to be an outcast... who would help him?

"We have a message for your leader..." The young wolf growled, bearing her teeth, red eyes baring on him.

"This is a trap. Gardner will slaughter every member of your thirteen man-or elf team." Silver Stride snarled, leaning forwards on his claws.

Lycans cannot be trusted. They are intelligent and want nothing but flesh and blood. _How did he know our numbers?_

"How do I know you aren't here to kill us?" He asked. Silver Stride nodded at the elf's courage, although it looked like he was appraising the quality of a slab of meat.

"You don't, but I assume that you can't scan?"

The way the elf's face paled even further was enough for the brown wolf. "Get the hell out of here Captain! There are at least..." The wolf frowned, sniffing the air. She looked up at Silver Stride who was about twice her size.

Kirrahe watched the way Silver Stride took the role of a teacher, and it confused him, _what do they gain from helping us?_

"Five?" She looked at Silver Stride.

A single sniff of the air, "Seven, I think two of them fed on a few squirrels."

Kirrahe's communicator blared.

"Sir, team one is under attack!"

Kirrahe disregarded the two wolves. Kelp wouldn't be happy, but he's replaced Root perfectly. "It's trap. I want team one out of there now, two, take to the sky, covering fire."

"Tell them to stop shielding, we can pinpoint your elves from the noise alone." Silver Stride informed him.

Kirrahe nodded, his training taking over, "Shielding attracts them, plus they can smell us anyway. Move, double time!" He shouted.

The Captain began to run, but caught himself, and he turned to the wolves. "Thank you."

The two wolves nodded to him, and Kirrahe ran, unconscious warlock in his arms. _Kelp is gonna kill me._

_He can do what he likes, Silver Stride and his ward saved us. _

* * *

As Levi nodded towards the young Captain, he watched his young Alpha. She watched the Captain leave, and her eyes betrayed no emotion.

For Fairies being emotional creatures, she showed less emotion than he had expected. So far, he'd seen her show amusement, anger, frustration as well as glee. Her Lycan body gave her the power to be more athletic, and that was, so far, the best benefit.

As the elven captain jumped, his wings activated, a wolf jumped from the trees, lacerating the arm of the unconscious warlock. Kirrahe did not hesitate, and he fled, the warlocks magic healing himself.

Levi disregarded the new comer, and watched Short's reaction.

She narrowed her eyes, before opening wide again. Levi frowned, but then he smelt the warlock's blood.

He put a claw on her shoulder. "Self-control lass, we can wait." She nodded, but Levi's voice attracted the other Lycan.

"Hey, get there and grab an elf before we eat them all!" He chortled, but Levi strolled up to him.

The look of recognition cut the wolf's laugh short. "L-Leviticus... s-sir..."

Levi waved his hand, wary of Short's eyes on him now. "I need you to do me favour, young blood."

The young wolf's eyes widened. "The A-Alpha... S-sir..." He took a deep breath, "He said you betrayed the clan."

Levi gave the wolf a sad smile, "What about Eos? Aegis? The entire council is dead, all because Rud Gardner was killed... by an elf."

The wolf glared at him, "Where is your proof traitor?!" He spat, fear momentarily hidden behind the lunacy of the thought.

"She's standing behind me you fool!" Levi growled, standing aside, and allowing the wolf to get a view of Short.

She walked up to him, and stood up straight. The young wolf wasn't tall, but he was still taller than Short. He glanced at her, but other than her small wolfen stature, she wasn't special.

"This puny creature? I don-"

"Short, order him to spread this around the clan."

She snarled, "Young blood, you are to spread this information around Garder's opponents."

"What is thi-" The Wrath of Alpha took him to his knees. Levi leant and whispered in the young wolf's ear.

"We will restore the Clan to its former glory young blood. Luna forgive us all."

The young wolf scrambled to feet, staring at Short. He showed much more terror than Levi could have wanted.

"Y-yes my Al- my Alpha." The young wolf bowed once, before sprinting back to his clan.

Levi watched him leave, before turning towards Short. Her eyes were on a mark of blood, from the claw of the young wolf, blood of the warlock most likely.

Levi frowned. She was strong, he did not doubt that. But she needed to feed... even if was a glass of blood. Although, feeding from a fresh corpse was optimal.

A howl made her panic. She looked at him for instruction.

"We should leave, before a less... impressionable Lycan joins us..." She simply nodded, glancing back the blood streak. All of her earlier focus had gone.

Levi grimaced. She needed to feed sooner than believed.

* * *

She felt Silver Stride pull her, but her thoughts were swimming.

_Go on, it's only a little bit... No one will get hurt...Why shouldn't you? You need to have some eventually... or else your date might be a little different from what you're used to. _

Another tug from Silver Stride, he said something, but Holly didn't care.

_It'll be so delicious... and that warlock won't miss it... it might even help with controlling your new condition... If he doesn't live, perhaps Kelp will let you have the leftovers- _

Levi slapped her. She stared blankly at him. "Snap out of it!" He growled, "We need to go. Now!"

She nodded, and let him pull away from the splatter. As she felt her senses come back to her, the horror of what she wanted to do hit her harder than the slap of her new ally.

"I wanted t-to-t-to-to-t-"

Levi didn't waste any more time. He threw the elf over his shoulder, and ran.

Holly did not notice the action.

"I w-would have- would have- w-wo-would h-ha-have-"

Levi ignored the elf as he ran. She was young and she was scared. No one can stay strong indefinitely. He did sympathise with her, for she helped him start to sow the seeds of dissent among the wolf clan, as well save her elven friends. Whatever she thought of herself now, she'll have to get over it. Today, she showed she had the makings of an Alpha, and few people take the curse positively, at least after the downsides become evident.

With the extra weight, he did not reach Fowl Manor until almost dawn. Keeping his form was exhausting, and he ended walking the rest of the distance.

The rhythm of his footsteps as well as her ordeal, the young wolf slept silently. The lass returned to her elf form with little fuss. As a wolf, she was much easier to hold, and as she transformed she took some of his fur with her. While a fairy, she was much smaller, so he had to hold her in one of his arms. Her original suit hadn't survived the first transformation, leaving her naked. The benefits of walking allowed Levi to keep her warm against his fur.

He found himself glancing at her. _I've been a bodyguard too long... but she needs to go back to her people, or at least young Fowl. __With their eyes, I assume he knows about Fairykind, and if Butler is as good as his reputation says, he should know too. _

Holly looked like she had rolling in dirt. A thin layer of earth covered her body, but it was thicker on her hands and feet.

At the sight of Fowl manor, Levi struggled to think of a way to inform the younger Fowl about this. _I might as well just be honest, he won't be happy though. _

Levi drifted towards a stable in the Fowl gardens, and lay the sleeping elf under a pile of hay. He watched her breathe for few moments, before allowing himself to become human again.

* * *

Artemis, Butler, Foaly, Kelp and his two guards had not slept. The Elves had arrived at the Fowl Manor just before the meeting with their informant was supposed to take place. As he checked in with Captain Kirrahe, he learnt of it was trap, but the entire team escaped with overall minor injuries, the biggest was an unconscious warlock who had a vicious wound which may have been infected.

Kelp took his officers back to Haven, and flatly ordered Artemis to find Holly.

Foaly had not said anything sarcastic since before his friend's disappearance. He was taking everything more seriously, and mixed between typing and pacing. Butler was doing something similar, mixing between patrolling the grounds and pacing with Artemis.

Artemis was obviously taking this the hardest. He hadn't told the others what happened, but if he hadn't... Artemis felt it was his fault.

A loud knock at the door made both Butler and Artemis sprint towards the door, but Artemis Senior got there first.

"Levi!" He cried, pulling the Scotsman into a hug, who just laughed at the affection. "Where did you disappear to?!"

Levi pulled away, glancing at both Butler and Artemis walking down the staircase, "I'm going through some pretty big changes, forgive me..."

Artemis waved his apologies, "Of course my friend, I understand, I need you to choose a guest room to stay in at least, ah, good morning Artemis, Butler."

"Thank you." As Artemis Senior strolled into the dining hall, Levi turned to Artemis. Butler moved to draw his gun.

"Where is she?!" Artemis hissed.

Levi raised his hand, "She's in the stables, under a pile of hay, she was sleeping when I left her." Both humans released waves of emotions, Butler became angry, and Artemis paled. Levi's eyes widened at the implication, "I didn't hurt her!" He frowned sheepishly, "But she did tear her suit, so take a towel or something..."

A moment of silence, then Artemis threw a lift hook at the Lycan. He saw it coming, but he didn't dodge. For anything, he deserved it, not that it had much power behind it. He cracked his jaw, "Go and get her, make sure she gets home safe."

Artems stormed out. Butler regarded the man with suspicion, however, he did not see any signs of deceit and he guessed neither had Artemis, but why his charge would hit a someone...

"What happened?" He asked simply.

"Other than she wanted information, it's not my place to tell." Butler nodded.

If someone would go off with a dangerous stranger because they wanted to know something, it was the young LEP Captain.

* * *

The seven wolves strolled into the makeshift chamber. Nick 'Ravager' Gardner sat upon a throne, taking the mantle of Alpha further than his father ever did.

The wolves bent onto one knee in front of their leader, and one by one they turned back into human.

"Did you get him?" Gardner asked, leaning forward. The young Alpha was in his wolf form, and had been since the Gathering.

The tallest of his minions stood. "No, my Alpha, they reacted quicker than we expected."

"So you failed me?" Garder asked coldly. The Alpha stood, and began to approach his followers. A few of the younger Lycans looked visibly scared.

The speaking minion did not flinch. "We believe it was Levi."

Despite his skill in the art of deception, Gardner did flinch. The minion took it as a sign to continue. "We found him as their commander fled, we felt that attacking him would have been futile." He paused. "None us have even close to his skills."

Gardner did not hear him. He pushed past the speaker, and sprinted away, leaving a group of surprised speakers.

In the moments of surprised silence, the lieutenant spoke quietly, "I guess we won't tell him what Levi told us..."

His team simply nodded. A certain wolf nodded a bit more than his comrades.

* * *

**24th August 1814, Washington D.C, USA**

"Fucking yanks, get the hell off me!"

"Shut him up Aegis." Captain Dunkeld could not see his attackers, and he struggled when a ribbon of fabric was wrapped around his mouth. Levi continued to struggle, but he knew it was useless. So did his captors.

"Stop wasting your energy Jock, we just want to offer you the deal of a lifetime." A man strolled in front of Levi's view. He looked to be in his thirties, and had silver hair as well as dull blue eyes. He had a scar running down the left side of his face, from his forehead, through his eyebrow and eye down to were one would expect dimples. He had the stance of leader and Levi could not help himself from involuntarily sitting up straight.

"I don't want to hurt you, but we've been scouting out for new bloods to join our... group." The leader spoke, before sitting, crossing his legs, in front of the bound Captain. "My name is Rudolph Gardner, and I lead a clan of Lycans." The Captain gave him a blank look, "Werewolves. All of my friends and I are blood thirsty wolves."

Gardner would be damned if he wanted a reaction. _Werewolves? What the fuck is this game. _The Captain simply stared at his captor.

Gardner shrugged. "You showed signs of good leadership and could follow orders, we could use that." He stood slowly, talking as he did, "We will meet back at your garrison after this farce of a war is done with." He turned to his followers behind Levi, "Aegis, untie the good man, I'm hungry and there are fields of soldiers to feed on." He gave Levi a final glance, "I hope you do join us, I'm sick of pure bloods, a bit of fresh perspective is always welcomed." He nodded towards his prisoner and left.

Levi watched the group of three leave, and he was simply confused. "Werewolves?" He said, "I need to start drinking again."

* * *

"Captain? We were worried sir..." One of the privates welcomed their Captain into the commandeered halls.

"Couple of guerillas, don't worry bout it." He waved off his subordinate's worries. He had a reputation of getting in trouble with guerillas back in Spain. coordinating resistance back in Iberia and Germany was a lonely job, but some of the rebels did not like their daughters cavorting.

Levi smiled at the thought of some of his conquests. It was only three girls, and Levi actually loved the first one. _Frogs and Yanks, bastards. The lot of them. _

Trying to ignore his loathing of the killers of his lovers, he turned towards his company. The 1st Bermuda Liberators. It wasn't a real unit, more so a group of volunteers led by their wayward Captain. They were more of a nationalistic militia, but who on earth would invade Bermuda? They were mainly soldiers who were sent away from the frontlines for insubordination, or simply because the upper echelons of the Royal Army didn't like them.

Levi smiled at the praises of his men, but his thoughts were led astray. He could not be promoted past his current rank because of his father's inadequacies. The drunken coach driver sold his son into the Army to pay off debts aganst a corrupt offical. To be promoted, Levi would have to attend officer school, and considering that Levi hadn't even finished school, the chances of that were next to none. Perhaps these werewolves were the way up?

"So Cap', where d'ya get caught?" Laughed one of the sergeants.

"Couple of blocks from the White House, nabbed by a couple of locals, don't worry, they won't be doing much damage anymore." Levi smiled, but he could not focus on anything but the thoughts of the Lycans.

"Only you Cap', little Sean was telling us bout his sister, nice!" A drunken trooper shouted, earning Levi a disgruntled look from the aforementioned Sean, the son of an Irish Priviateer. His sister had been a resistance medic back in Bavaria. Levi's most recent lover.

"Lovely gal, great with her hands." Levi winked at the now angry Sean, earning them laughs from both the Bermudians and other Redcoats.

"Captain, we need no details of your exploits," Everyone turned to the newcomer, "God knows I've heard stories before you joined us."

The room erupted in cheers for the Rear Admiral, George Cockburn, both his victory and his humour. While Levi served in the Royal Army, everyone had heard of Cockburn's opinions on corporal punishment, and he knew how make sailors work efficiently without the threat of violence.

"Thank you sir, but I'm sure you have similar stories." Levi chuckled at the indignant look on his leader's face.

"Please Captain, I am a gentleman and an officer, ladies throw themselves at me." Levi laughed at the Admiral's feigned arrogance.

A man standing on a balcony above his Admiral made Levi's smile falter. The silver-haired man smiled. "Excuse me sir." The admiral waved his hand and Levi saluted.

"Leave the locals be, Captain." The Admiral chuckled, earning him laughs from the onlookers. Levi snorted as he walked away.

Levi strolled through the mass of celebratory troops, heading towards a set of stairs. His thoughts in turmoil.

_What if this is a sick joke? I mean... Werewolves? People who can turn into animals? _

Levi shook his head as he rested his hands on the balcony next to his kidnapper.

"Did you think more about my offer?" Asked Gardner.

Levi took a breath. "I'd like proof..."

Gardner nodded his head. "Of course." He looked over towards the Admiral who was at a makeshift bar, set up from looted alcohol supplies. His back was towards the balcony. Gardner closed his eyes, and Levi watched his ears twitch. "Look the Admiral by the bar, he's ordering... heh, a glass of whiskey."

Levi watched the bartender, a young Quebecker, checking each of the barrels. He found what he was looking for, and held a glass under the keg. A familiar looking golden liquid was poured into the glass.

"Do you see the label just above the tap?" Levi kept his eye on his superior but nodded. Glancing at the label, there was small logo, as well words, but it was too small to read. "Smuggled Black Bush."

Levi frowned at Gardner. He turned, went down the stairs of the balcony and wandered over to the bar.

"Black Bush." He asked the barkeeper, who nodded.

The Quebecker strolled over to the same keg. Levi paled. If the barman noticed the change in Levi's complexion, he didn't mention it.

Levi did not blink as he swallowed the liquid. Ignoring the burning sensation in his throat, he returned to Gardner.

"So, where do we stand?" The Lycan asked, an amused expression on his face.

* * *

_Lycan fur is extremely similar to that of natural wolves, which have dense fluffy winter fur, with short underfur and long, course guard hairs. The underfur is substituted by natural chest hair, which covers the Lycan hide. Lycans shed every spring._

_Their hides are similar to that of elephants, being very tough and in some places, extremely thick. Larger males can have skin almost an inch thick across the back of their head. Despite it still being tough, piercing and slashing weapons have the potential to easily damage the Lycans. _

_Wolfen claws and bones are both made of Keratin, the same component in human hair and nails. Their claws are relatively straight, only gradually tapering into a point, and are extremely narrow, transversely flattened. _

Excerpt from _The Complete Works of __Wolfenkind_by Dr. K. Kopple.

* * *

Nick burst through the doors.

"Always Levi. That fucking mongrel always had it out for me." He roared. "I'm Alpha by right, so what? He thinks he can win? He knows to avoid me, I could just order him to follow me." Nick transformed into his human form.

He stood in the dark room covering his face. He ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Fairy law has its uses eh?" Nick chuckled humourlessly.

His listener did not react to his presence. Nick growled. "Why do you not believe in me?"

No reply.

"You helped my father, what do I need to do?" He slammed his fist onto the table, spilling a glass that covered a plate of truffles in a purple liquid. Red eyes watched him.

Ravager was scared. Scared of his companion. Scared of Levi. Scared of what could happen if the truth got out. Scared of the power of the fairies.

"Levi is the only one who knows... he could ruin our plans..."

The red eyes narrowed. "Our plans will not fail, I did plan them..." Nick's companion chuckled as if she was a comedic genius, "Your friend is nothing but fly on the wall."

She rose from her seat, and strolled over the nervous Alpha. "He does not know about me... we have advantages that the fairies will not expect... you do want this for me don't you?" She purred.

Nick growled. "I'm doing this for me. You have your goals and I have mine."

The female dropped her niceness act. "You are doing this for me. If you do well, you get what you want." She snorted. "You need me, you _flea ridden_ monstrosity."

Nick snapped. He lunged at the short figure, but she was quicker. She sidestepped at the last moment, sending the Lycan sprawling. She stood above him, a snarky glare against the Alpha's barely controlled fury.

"You are alive because I allow it. You are but my puppet and I am your master, do you understand?" She growled.

The Ravager did not reply with words. He threw a fist towards the elf, but she threw a ball of electricity into the Lycan. Nick cried out while his body broke into spasms. "Do you understand?"

He tried to turn into a wolf, but another bout of electricity made him writhe, sending pain throughout his now helpless body.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!" He shouted. His master simply smiled.

"Good. Now, go crawl back to your _throne_ and control those _creatures._" She commanded, her voice layered with sarcasm.

Nick tried to move, but his body shut down due to the pain. His master cocked her head towards the pathetic Alpha.

She tittered, dancing on one foot to the other. "I control the Werewolf clans!"

Opal Koboi sat, and leant back in her chair. _Look out Fairies. Especially you Foaly, my biggest pet is looking forward to some Centaur Salami. _

Her chuckling turned into malicious laughter. Had Nick been conscious, he would have doubled in terror.


	6. Aftermath

_Fun fact – the Star Wars cruiser shown during the battle for Corusant (III) is known as a Venator-class cruiser. Oh, and the fourth part is supposed to have been written like that, I promise, my writing isn't that bad._

_1__st __September 1995, Dublin, it didn't __rain__, but __I can take some liberties can I not?__We also meet a new OC. Let's see, three main original characters to rival Artemis, Holly, Butler, Kelp,Opal, Minerva__, Artemis I, etcetera etcetera. __I'm not sure how many more main OCs I want to have. I think three is good enough though. _

_Mack_

* * *

"_I'll fuck your mind, over the spring time, degrading in your prime, a thought so asinine"_

_Ching Chime by Serj Tankian_

* * *

"_Is it too good to be true? That's our first thought. We have the option to become stronger, smarter, and faster. I suppose, there are the moral issues, and people have refused for religious reasons, but human nature tends to prevail. We want to be better. However, it's a massive shock._

"_Well, there's the first transformation. It's an extremely hard feeling to describe. Your mind... it blanks... and, excuse my French, its like your first good fuck. Imagine that feeling in your lower abdomen but its spread through your entire body. All of your bones crack... its like a drug. _

"_Considering I was... what? Twelve during my first time? Its addictive... its feels... all of your problems are blown away. Like any drug, it takes control._

"_One of the reasons that the arbitrary transformations were outlawed, was that immaturity would breed recklessness and blatant stupidity. Like teens at a house party, new bloods would overuse their gift... I suppose that's why the Venators are there..." _

_Excerpt from an interview with Keleus Reegan, The Complete Works of Wolfenkind by Dr. K. Kopple._

* * *

A blur of movement.

Holly span trying to track the movement to no avail.

A soft growl in the distance.

Holly looked towards the sound, but there is nothing but darkness.

A scream from the opposite direction.

Eyes wide, she looked towards the new sound, but there is nothing but darkness.

_it hurts_

The voice is soft and sound is surround.

_make it stop_

"Get out of my head!" Holly shouted, scratching at her temple.

_please mother make it stop_

Holly fell to knees.

_mother please make it stop it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts _

* * *

"Leave her."

Artemis watched his friend and love interest coldly. Butler and Levi stood either side of him.

Levi grimaced. Artemis turned to him. "Please... we need to know what happened..."

Butler hid his surprise. Artemis did not beg. Holly was his first friend, other that Butler, who he really cared about.

Levi shook his head. "She probably won't even remember what she saw when she wakes."

"Normally..." Artemis took a breath, "What did you do?" he growled, clenching his hands into fists. Butler put a hand on his charge's shoulder. No one wants to watch someone you love suffer.

Before Butler could speak, Holly screamed again.

In order to minimise the Fowl family's exposure to magic, they took the LEP captain to one of Butler's many safe houses near the manor. When Artemis found her, she was shivering and sweating worryingly high amounts. As Butler carried her to the safehouse, she had the first seizure.

That was two days ago. Artemis had not left her side, and the bags around his eyes were evident.

She had been trying to claw open her own head for the last few hours, which made Artemis call for Levi. The Lycan, however, was being extremely tight lipped.

"Butler, restrain her arms."

Butler did so without question. Ignoring her thrashing, Artemis sat next her, whispering softly. It sounded similar to what his mother would sing to the twins to get them to sleep. He got single verse before the young elf slipped an arm from under Butler.

"No! Stop it! Don't hurt him!" Her arm flew up, catching Artemis across his hazel eye. The genius stumbled, clutching his face, while Butler struggled to hold her down.

Leviticus watched the exchange with a smile. _The young Fowl has crush on the elf, even Butler finds it adorable._

Artemis, however, took his smile the wrong way. "What did you do...?" His voice was soft, and portrayed much more malice than a Lycan growl.

Levi shook his head, not losing his smile. He walked over to the thrashing elf, and sat where Artemis did.

"Let her go." Butler glanced warily, but stood back.

In an instant, the elf began thrashing. Levi put a hand onto her chest and the movements ceased. "P_uella quiete et Lunam habebit alium Angelum._" He growled, his Lycan voice breaking through his human form.

Within seconds, the sparks flew from her body, as well as engulfing Levi's hand. Her sweats receded and the shivering stopped. Her breathing rate fell. Levi bowed towards the bed, and stepped back, approaching the gaping Artemis.

"What did... W-what did you do?!"

Levi smiled softly. "If I'm correct, her body was overflowing with magic, I simply absorbed some of the excess."

Artemis regained control of his jaw and frowned. "But why is that a problem?"

"When she wakes, ask her."

And he left.

* * *

Soft. Headache. Darkness.

No. Not darkness. Little light.

Warm. Hot? Comfortable. Breathing. Two? Three? Danger?

Shield. Two Mudmen. One small. One big. One danger. Second?

Roll out of soft. Air warm. Ground soft. Danger. Big Mudman turns. Hunting.

Drop to ground. Second Mudman turns. Speaks to big Mudman. Big Mudman distracted. Chance.

Run fast. Big Mudman fast. Hit legs. Pain. Fall. Roll. Run. Look back.

Mudman grab. Strong. Panic. Kick. Claw. Bite. Eyes. Mudman let go. Run.

Little Mudman. Speaks. Shield? Danger. Weak? Weak.

Punch. Miss. Punch. Miss. Fast danger? Weak?

Roar? Drop to knees. Look up. Behind weak Mudman. Friend?

Lycan. Roar. Lycan growl. No danger? Ask if friend. Lycan nods. Friend? Look at weak Mudman. Muscles contract.

Friend? Do not know. Growl at Lycan. Lycan nods. Growl at Mudman. Lycan speaks to Mudman. Mudman speaks back. Mudman looks. Bows. Steps back. No Danger.

Noise.

Turn. Big Mudman. Growl. Danger. Lycan speaks. Mudman bows. Steps back. No danger? Growl. Lycan Growls. Friends?

Lycan speaks. Lycan growls. Safe? Darkness.

* * *

"What was that Levi?!" Demanded Artemis, "Why was she so... barbaric...?"

Levi dropped next to the unconscious elf, his wolf form towering both the humans and Holly. "The transformation. She's strong, but she's becoming more animalistic."

"Transformation?" Butler paled. He was already feeling guilty about hitting the crazed elf with as much force as he did.

"Aye, she's now a Lycan." Levi grimaced, "but I assumed she wanted give you the news."

Artemis wiped his forehead. "Butler, can you take her back to her room?" Butler nodded, and picked her up. "Levi, come with me."

The young Fowl took the Lycan, still in wolf form, to his study.

"Tell me how does the process work."

Levi nodded.

Artemis watched the Lycan transform with interest. Reading stories about magical creatures always made him salivate at the thought of being around such monsters like Levi. Even fairies, dwarves and demons made him giddy, at least they did when he first captured Holly.

Levi's transformation was not as awesome as he expected. There was no sound or flash of light, he simply knelt, in a propsal position. His fur sunk back into his body, and his face distorted back into a human one.

"What do you want to know?" Levi stood, flexing his arms.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Not for someone as physically fit as Short, but there aren't many faerie Lycans." He sat into a chair opposite Artemis. The young genius leant forward.

"Is there a cure?"

Levi looked him in the eye. "Death is our cure."

Artemis closed his eyes and exhaled. "Even for magical beings?"

Levi shook his head. "We are magical conduits. I doubt she'll be able to use her magic at all, outside her body at least."

Artemis ran a hand through his hair. "Frond's bible mentioned a rite."

Levi nodded. "It's what gives a person the curse, as well making the curse stay for pure bloods."

Artemis frowned. "Holly completed the rite?"

The Lycan snorted, "She hasn't even fed, no, I believe that she has the curse because she killed the previous Alpha."

"During the Christmas Massacre?"

"Aye, she killed Rud, and so, she is bound by the laws of the Lycans, she is rightfully our leader." Levi looked blankly towards a spot on the wall. "Then his son, using his father's blood took her position."

"I assume you tried to stop him?"

The Lycan nodded, but did not look back to his host. "Aye, but we weren't strong enough. I suppose its ironic that our new Alpha saved me from the usurper."

Butler entered the room, "It seems our friend's brain functions are back, but she's confused."

"Granted, shall we, Mr Dunkeld?"

* * *

News of the ascension spread like wildfire across the Lycan world. Rudolph Gardner had earnt the respect of this community by being an overall good ruler. He would rule with an iron fist, but he would not place blame unfairly. His son, on the other hand, was known for the complete opposite.

He was known to punish wrongdoers on a personal whim, and some of the punishments were more so for the _attractive _female Lycans, opposed to the males. This was worrisome for certain groups.

Nick 'the Ravager' Gardner rubbed his bloody claw on his fur. _Third chall__e__nger today, I must be worrying some important people._

Due to their athletic prowess, many none-clan wolves would turn to Army careers, or at least mercenary work. The contractors would higher some of the older wolves, or wolves that, if lived in the human sight for any longer would lead to suspicious questions. The modern day Varagian Guard, or the Venators were the biggest contractors, although they would object to such a title.

Nick snorted. The Venators happened to be the sect of Lycans who hunted down the rogues. Stories from his father told him they had challenged even the great Rud for control of the clan. Aegis even suggested that it happens during every succession.

The other group was the 'Daughters of Darkness'. This was an Amazonian style group, only accepting females in a protest against the patriarchal style of the Lycan hierarchy. This was a new group, being created during similar movements to the humans. Their leader, _the bitch Kiara,_ was Nick's half sister, his mother's daughter.

Both the Venators and DoD had challenged him, the other being the lover of Knightwing.

Nick snarled. "The bitch, the bastard and the runt walk into a bar. They all died. Not funny, but this was definitely a joke."

He spat on the corpse of Knightwing's partner, kicking him for good measure.

_I demand your presence._

Nick hid the wince of his unwanted intrusion. "Go, I have business to attend."

The assorted crowd of DoD, Venators and other Lycans left in silence while Nick looked for dissenters. He'd heard rumours of another pretender, but no one would confirm them. Unsurprisingly, many of the rumours came from his father's supporters.

Nick spat as he walked towards his time travelling partner. _Of course they want me off my throne, I'm a god and they re jealous._

Slamming open the door, he snarled at the elf. "Do not do that again _elf_."

A rush of electricity hit his chest, sending him to the floor. He growled, but the only function he could control was his hands, which scratched against the stone floor.

The elf laughed. "Or what _fluffy_? You'll... _eat_ me?" _Laugh? _Opal tittered, while Nick tried to snarl.

Another bolt of electricity flew into the wolf's chest. "Don't you just love the smell of cooked meat? Especially _hotdogs_!"

Nick could not focus on the words from his new leader. This mind was blank and his body was raging with uncontrollable spasms.

"Hah! I'm so funny." Opal rubbed tears from her eyes. "Okay pup, listen up."

Opal walked over to the wolf and moved his head with her foot. Resting it on his throat, she spoke, using her mesmer. "_You are to travel to Tara and when I give the word you are to kill as many elves as possible. _And while you distract the LEP I will steal a transport and travel to Atlantis and rescue myself. Deviously simple, is it not?"

"I will travel to Tara and when you give the word I am to kill as many elves as possible."

"_Take some friends as well._"

"Take some friends as well."

Opal snarled at the wolf, "At least talk back how you use to, at least then I could shock you some more."

"I will travel to Tara and when you give the word I am to kill as many elves as possible. Take some friends as well. Talk back how I used to."

"Ugh, perhaps I shouldn't have done that." She kicked the Alpha, "Get ready now, I will give the order at some point his weekend."

She hopped of the zombified wolf, "It's long journey _wolfy, _I suggest you get moving." She said with a wave of her hand.

* * *

As Artemis and Levi entered the room, Holly sat up. She looked at Artemis guiltily and then to Levi. He smiled softly while Artemis spoke.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Like there's been Dwarven frat party in my head." She chuckled, she looked back at the Lycan, "Is this normal?"

He simply nodded. Artemis spoke again, glaring at the seemed familiarity at the two Lycans, "Levi, what other effects can we expect?"

He frowned for a moment before he answered. "We go on heat, bloodlusting, nightmares and we tend to find that some emotions become more pronounced, anger, pride, confidence, while some loose meaning, fear, trust, worries, but it can be different for an individual."

He sat crossing his legs, earning the attention of both listeners. "For example, I rarely feel anger, but I also loose the need for interaction after I transform, Ravager," he spat at the name, "is the opposite I guess, he feels more pride and enjoys being in charge, but he still has worries..."

He ran a hand through his hair, turning to Holly, "Its generally down to your personality, you will probably go through changes." He stood, stretching his back, "Do you have a partner? Like I keep mentioning, mainly because it's probably only second to the bloodlust, when you go in heat, you don't understand..." He wandered over the only window in the room, and held his hands behind his back.

He did not see Artemis glance to Holly, and her returning glare.

"Strong emotions sometimes cause you transform... and you can no longer be prudent about sex."

"What are thinking about?" Holly asked softly.

"My lover..." Levi closed his eyes, "I haven't seen her since... a few years now..." He laughed, but without humour.

"Go and see her then!" Holly hopped down from the bed, ignoring a gasp from Artemis. "I have to go and report to Kelp anyway, not mention to try and think of a convincing lie..."

Levi turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "You need to learn-"

"Don't give me that, I still need to get used to idea of being a monster..." She started to raise hands defensively to Levi, "No... I didn't mean that..."

He waved his hands, "I agree... I will leave my number, call me when you are dressed," Holly looked down, to realise why Artemis gasped. She started to blush furiously, covering as much of herself as she could with her hands, but Levi seemed preoccupied with his thoughts, "If you go back underground, and you find yourself loosing control, get back to the surface immediately."

He pushed passed, the now bright red, Holly and turned to, the now bright red, Artemis, "Keep in contact with her, and tell your father I'm sorry, and I going to visit Ms. Capet, he'll remember her."

And he left, just like that.

Artemis turned to Holly, still wrapping herself in her blanket and she glared at him. "This was all a ploy to get me out of pants wasn't it, Mr Fowl."

Artemis spluttered, making Holly chuckle dryly. "I'm messing with you Mudboy, but please," she batted her eyelids and smiled salaciously, "Go and find me some clothes."

* * *

**Dublin, 1st September 1995**

Fighting the downpour of the rain of the British Isles, Levi walked into the restaurant, and shrugged off some of the water from his coat. He turned to his partner, and she did the same thing.

"C'est des conneries!" She cried. Levi just laughed.

"Calm down, this could be a big deal..." He looked around the sparsely filled room.

Lots of empty, yet well decorated tables suggested a high class and mostly expensive establishment.

"Big deal or no, I'm soaked. The girls are gonna love this, I need to freshen up, start without me." Levi watched her walk into the toilets, hair drenched. He did nothing but chuckle until a huge tank of a man came up to him.

"Come with me." He demanded. Levi chuckled at the manservant. Fowl must be one dangerous man if he needed this monster.

Levi was taken to a table, with walls either side to offer privacy, where a man sat. He was tall, and neither fat nor skinny. He sported a three-piece suit, complete with a crest that was the logo for the Fowl empire.

"Mr Fowl I presume?" The Magnate nodded. He waved his hand towards the seat opposite him, and Levi sat. "My name is Dunkeld, my partner, Capet, is drying herself, Mother Nature is fickle today, no?"

The man opposite him simply glowered. After a moment, the manservant placed a case in front of Levi. As he opened it, the sparkle of the various jewels made Levi frown.

"Who?"

Fowl crossed his arms and spoke in a gruff Irish accent, mirroring Levi's business voice, "Yitzhak Rabin."

Levi's frown grew, "The Union is a purely European organisation... And why is he your target?"

"I was told no questions were to be asked."

"Mr Fowl, I apologize..." All eyes turned the newcomer. Capet had put her hair into ponytail, and she had taken off her coat, leaving her in a black shirt.

"Miss Capet, do not worry, please, take a seat." Fowl's voice changed, and it alarmed Levi. His accent was more pronounced and less cold. He was dealing with someone who had plenty of experience with controlling people. _He hasn't dealt with two Lycans though._

"Mr Fowl wants us to take care of business in Israel, and I was informing him of our regional limits." Levi spoke, using similar linguistic techniques as his counterpart.

"And what is the offer?"

Fowl spoke before Levi could, "Half a million pounds in jewellery, the target is Rabin."

"The Prime Minister?" She asked.

"Yes," Fowl turned to Levi, "His signing of the Oslo Accords has severely effected certain... Armament deals in the area..."

Capet looked at the case. Fowl expected to see a glint of greed, but he got nothing.

The Union of British Assassins, which included a french girl, had been recommended in terms of efficiency and cost. Fowl had expected a show of power, or at least greed, from his contacts, like every other lowlife. But no, this pair seemed to, at least act like they should, be professionals.

They way Capet spoke showed volumes, "We assume that Rabin may suffer quite publicly, and your second, identical, payment will be paid the day after the event."

Dunkeld followed her lead, and despite been curious, he also spoke professionally, "We will send a representative to your home, we feel that the consequences of unfulfilling this payment on time, can go unsaid."

Fowl allowed himself a small smile. "I hope to see you soon."

The two assassins nodded before leaving with their case. "Sir?" Fowl turn to Butler, "My nephew just informed me, your wife is in labour."

Fowl's smle grew and he clapped his hands together. "Marvellous, with an heir, perhaps we can get a little more dirty."

The assassins both turned to see the little show of emotion. Capet looked at Levi with a raised brow. "We need to be careful Levi..."

Levi smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Don't worry my love, what can he do? I'd eat him before he could hurt you."

She snorted. "His guard would eat us both."

Levi shook his head, but still smiled. He placed a soft kiss on her cheek, the action making her chuckle. "You need to shave you mongrel."

Levi gave her an indignant look. "Me a mongrel? Your beard puts mine to shame."

Following a playful punch, he pulled her into a hug. "We need to play the part of a loving couple, do we not?"

She gave him a faked bashful look, but Levi saw through it, kissing her. As he pulled away, she spoke, looking into his eyes. "You don't have the personality of an assassin... plus your eyes seem more green today..."

"That's because they've seen you..." He said kissing her again. "And you've said, but I'm good at it, am I not?"

"Pass me my coat you bastard."

"So ladylike." She snorted as she took her coat from him, but a wave of sadness overtook her.

"Don't you have to meet my stepfather tomorrow?" She bit her lip.

"Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean he doesn't care." Levi pulled her into another hug.

"All he cares about is his precious son." She snarled, tears of jealously threatening to fall.

"Come on, let me take you home, I'm sure your little group miss their queen bee."

A small smile came to her face. "_Me sucer la bite_, we have enough members to do damage you know..."

"What ever makes you happy Kiara." Levi grunted, "Don't come crying to me when your group of dykes runs out of men... oh wait..."

"Dykes?!" Kiara kicked Levi in the shin. "The Daughters of Darkness are a legitimate group of contractors who rival the Venators you fu-" A deep kiss cut off her rant. As he pulled away, a big grin on his face, she kicked him again. "Fuck you."

"Whatever you say."


End file.
